Full text of "The art of William Morris"

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THE ART OF
WILLIAM MORRIS

THIS EDITION IS LIMITED TO 220 COPIES,
OF WHICH 210 ARE FOR SALE.
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THE ART OF WILLIAM
MORRIS* A RECORD BY
AYMER VALLANCE fr
WITH REPRODUCTIONS
FROM DESIGNS AND
FABRICS PRINTED IN
THE COLOURS OF THE
ORIGINALS^EXAMPLES
OF THE TYPE AND OR-
NAMENTS USED AT THE
KELMSCOTT PRESS *
AND MANY OTHER IL-
LUSTRATIONS *ALSO A
CLASSIFIED BIBLIO-
GRAPHY BY TEMPLE
SCOTT * PRINTED AT
THE CHISWICK PRESS
AND PUBLISHED BY
GEORGE BELL & SONS
LONDON MDCCCXCVII*

MICO SVPER OMNES DILECTO
VIX VNVM ANNVM COGNITO
^JAM EHEV EHEV .... DEDI-
CAT INTER LACRYMAS ADOMARVS

LOVE WHILE YE MAY ; IF TWAIN GROW INTO ONE
'TIS FOR A LITTLE WHILE ; THE TIME GOES BY,
NO HATRED 'TWIXT THE PAIR OF FRIENDS DOTH LIE,
NO TROUBLES BREAK THEIR HEARTS— AND YET,

AND YET-
HOW COULD IT BE ? WE STROVE NOT TO FORGET;
RATHER IN VAIN TO THAT OLD TIME WE CLUNG,
ITS HOPES AND WISHES ROUND OUR HEARTS WE

HUNG,
WE PLAYED OLD PARTS, WE USED OLD NAMES— IN

VAIN,
WE GO OUR WAYS, AND TWAIN ONCE MORE ARE

TWAIN ;
LET PASS— AT LATEST WHEN WE COME TO DIE
THUS SHALL THE FASHION OF THE WORLD GO BY.

FROM "THE DOOM OF KING ACRISIUS," IN
" THE EARTHLY PARADISE," BY W. MORRIS.

PREFACE.

HOUGH it was not my intention to write
a preface, circumstances have made it
necessary that I should do so. In the
first place I wish it to be noticed that I
chose purposely to call my book "The Art
of William Morris " so as to show that
it makes no claim to be a biography nor
a record of any of his private and family
affairs. Such a work I was neither
asked nor authorized to write. It is
true, of course, that I had the privilege
of knowing the late Mr. Morris personally — from the year 1883
onwards until his death. At the same time I submit that, with
two or three very trifling exceptions, I have not introduced into
the book any details of his life which were not already common
property — which could not just as well have been strung together
by any one who knew where to find the scattered references in
Mr. Morris's own writings, and in various other publications,
without ever having met Mr. Morris face to face ; nor more than
such as were necessary to link together the contents of the book
in some sort of consecutive order.

I must state that when I first approached Mr. Morris, in the
autumn of 1894, on the question of the proposed book, he told me
then frankly that he did not want it to be done either by myself
or by anybody else so long as he was alive, but that if I would
only wait until his death I might do it. Thus I have now Mr.
Morris's express sanction for bringing out a work upon himself;
nor need I point out that he could have stopped its preparation
at the outset, had he chosen to withhold his permission to
reproduce his designs. Whereas, on the contrary, he insisted
that if the work came out at all, it must be illustrated ; he gave
me a general permission to reproduce a selection from the
property of the firm of Morris and Co., provided I obtained the
consent of his partners (which was accorded, I am bound to say,
with a courtesy coupled with the kindest assistance, for which I
do not know how to express all the thanks that are due) ; he gave
me specific authority to reproduce a number of ornaments of the
Kelmscott Press, some of which he suggested and chose for
me himself, only stipulating that the blocks for this purpose
should be prepared by Mr. Emery Walker ; he referred me to Mr.
Fairfax Murray, who is the owner of a few early cartoons of
great value from the artist's hand ; and lastly, when he lay on his

vii

death-bed, Lady Burne-Jones having asked him, on my applica-
tion to be shown the illuminated books in her possession, whether
he approved of her doing so, he replied that it was quite right, and
himself told her about my forthcoming book. Accordingly, Lady
Burne-Jones was kind enough to let me see all the books I de-
sired, and moreover, she entrusted me, complete stranger as I was,
alone in the room with them for more than an hour, to allow me
the opportunity of making what notes of them I pleased for
publication. For the rest, neither the members of Mr. Morris's
family nor his friends have made themselves responsible for
what I have written.

I should state that my original purpose was to have included
an account of Mr. Morris's literary and political work as well —
indeed he himself remarked to me, when he and I were discussing
the plan of this book, that it would not be fair to slur over nor to
suppress the subject of Socialism. But, the limits of time and
space allowed me by my publishers having been reached by the
middle of the fifth chapter, I was compelled to confine myself
thereafter to an account of Kelmscott Manor (for the section
whereon the blocks had been already prepared at no small cost
from photographs kindly lent me by Mr. Frederick H. Evans),
and to the two chapters that follow, which deal with indispensable
phases of Mr. Morris's art work. The omissions will not, it is
hoped, impair the unity of the book as a study of William Morris's
artistic side. It seemed to me better, on the whole, to leave the
material I had in hand relating to the other subjects in abeyance
(to be published, I trust, at some future date), rather than, by
summarizing, to render it disproportionate to the rest.

The fifth chapter treats connectedly of what, I believe, is so
far new ground ; nothing beyond incidental notices having been
made by previous writers to this, the most important movement
in the history of modern art. This, then, I venture to name as
perhaps the distinctive feature of the present work — of my share
of it— I mean.

In conclusion I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to my
friend, Mr. Temple Scott, for supplying, at infinite pains, the
bibliography which I, no expert, could not myself have under-
taken, and to all others, more especially to Mr. C. Fairfax Murray,
who by their advice and information, or by furnishing the re-
quisite leave to reproduce objects in their possession, have con-
tributed to lighten the responsibilities of my task.

February, 1897.

Vlll

LIST OF CONTENTS.

Page

CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING OF DAYS .... I

CHAPTER TWO: OXFORD TO LONDON 7

CHAPTER THREE: ART AND POETRY 14

CHAPTER FOUR: BETWEEN WHILES : THE RED HOUSE. 26
CHAPTER FIVE: OF THE FIRM OF MORRIS AND CO.,

DECORATORS 38

CHAPTER SIX: KELMSCOTT MANOR no

CHAPTER SEVEN: SOCIETIES 121

CHAPTER EIGHT: BOOK DECORATION AND THE KELM-
SCOTT PRESS 132

BIBLIOGRAPHY 169

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

I. IN BLACK AND WHITE.

Page
PORTRAIT of William Morris, in photogravure . . . Frontispiece
The Red House, Upton. From the Garden. From a drawing by H. P.

Clifford 29

The Red House, Upton. The Well. From a drawing by H. P. Clifford 30

The Red House, Upton. The Staircase. From a drawing by H. P.

Clifford 31

The Red House, Upton. Panels of Early Morris Glass. From a drawing

by H. P. Clifford 32 and 33

The Red House, Upton. Buffet in the Dining-Room. From a drawing

by H. P. Clifford 34

The Red House, Upton. TheLanding. From a drawing by H. P. Clifford 35

The Red House, Upton. Wall Paintings, by Sir E. Burne-Jones, Bart. Facing 36
Painted Glass in St. Martin's Church, Scarborough. Designed by D. G.

Rossetti Facing 47

Painted Glass in St. Giles's Church, Camberwell. With figure of St. Paul.

Painted Glass in Jesus College, Cambridge. Designed by Sir E. Burne-
Jones, Bart. (2 plates) Facing 54

Painted Glass in Christ Church, Oxford. Designed by Sir E. Burne-Jones,

Bart. (2 plates) Facing 56

The Works at Merton Abbey. From a drawing by H. P. Clifford . . 95

Angels in Adoration. Cartoons for Wall Decoration, in the possession

of Mr. C. Fairfax Murray 100

Kelmscott Manor. Entrance Front. The Frontispiece of the Kelmscott

Press edition of " News from Nowhere." Drawn by C. M. Gere in
Kelmscott Manor. From the Garth. From a drawing by R.J. Williams 112
Kelmscott Manor. Back of the House. From a drawing by R.J. Williams 113
Kelmscott Manor. From the Meadow at the back. Drawn by E. H.

New for " The Quest " 114

Kelmscott Manor. The Tapestry Room. From a drawing by R.J.Williams 116
Kelmscott Manor. Bed with hangings designed by Mrs. Sparling. From

a drawing by R. J. Williams 117

Kelmscott Manor. The Attics. From a drawing by R. J. Williams . 118
Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith. From a drawing by H. P.

Clifford 119

ix c

Kelmscott Press.
Kelmscott Press.
Kelmscott Press.
Kelmscott Press.

Kelmscott Press Mark

Page
133
145
147
150
151
151
153
154
155
158

Two pages from the Chaucer 162 and 163

166

Device on the title-page of " The Earthly Paradise " .

Exterior of the Kelmscott Press. From a drawing by H. P. Clifford

Kelmscott Press. First page of " Poems by the Way "

Kelmscott Press. Title-page of " The History of Godefrey of Boloyne

Kelmscott Press. Part of page from " Godefrey of Boloyne " .

Kelmscott Press Mark

Kelmscott Press. Title-page of " A Tale of Over Sea "

Title-page of "The Tale of Beowulf" .
Page from " The Well at the World's End "
Title-page of " Hand and Soul " ....

II. REPRODUCTIONS IN COLOUR, FROM DESIGNS BY

WILLIAM MORRIS.

EXECUTED BY MORRIS AND CO.

Plate I.

II.
III.
IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

XXII.

XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV.

XXVI.

XXVII.

XXVIII.

XXIX.

XXX.

XXXI.

Angel with Scroll. Cartoon for decorative Painting, from the original

in the possession of Mr. C. Fairfax Murray.
Hand-Painted Tiles. Rose Pattern.
Hand-Painted Tiles. Daisy Pattern.
Wall-Paper. The Daisy Design.
Wall-Paper. The Trellis Design (the Birds designed by Philip

Webb).
Wall-Paper.
Wall-Paper.
Wall-Paper.
Wall-Paper.
Ceiling Paper.
Wall-Paper

The Marigold Design.
The Vine Design.
The Acanthus Design.
The Apple Design.

Specially designed for St. James's Palace.
Specially designed for St. James's Palace.

Wall-Paper. The Wild Tulip Design.

Wall-Paper. The Bruges Design.

■Wall-Paper. The Pink and Rose Design.

Chintzes. The Bird and Anemone, and The Strawberry Thief

Designs.
Chintz. The Honeysuckle Design.
Chintz. The Wandle Design.
Chintz. The Wey Design.
Printed Velveteen. The Acanthus Design.
Printed Velveteen. The Cherwell Design.
Velvet Broche with Gold Tissue.
Silk. The St. James Design.
Silk. The Kennet Design.
Silk. The Cross-twigs Design.

Woven Wool Tapestry. The Tulip and Rose Design.
Woven Silk and Wool Tapestry. The Anemone Design.
Woven Wool Tapestry. The Bird and Vine Design.
Woven Wool Tapestry. The Peacock and Dragon Design.
Woven Silk and Wool Tapestry. The Dove and Rose Design.
Kidderminster Carpet. The Lily Design.
Sketch Design for Hammersmith Carpet. Small Bar Pattern.

Plate XXXII. Sketch Design for Hammersmith Carpet. The Little Flowers
Pattern.

XXXIII. Sketch Design for Hammersmith Carpet. Buller's Wood Pattern.

XXXIV. Hammersmith Carpet. The Black Tree Pattern.
XXXV. Hammersmith Carpet. The Little Tree Pattern.

XXXVI. Hammersmith Carpet. Detail of the Redcar Pattern.
XXXVII. Arras Tapestry. The Orchard.
XXXVIII. Arras Tapestry. The Woodpecker.

XXXIX. Embroidered Hanging. Executed in coloured silks upon yellow
linen.
XL. Bookbinding in Gold Stamped Leather.

The drawings of Kelmscott Manor were made from photographs taken by
Mr. Frederick H. Evans, by whose kind permission they are here included.
Those of the exterior of The Red House, from photographs, and of the interior,
on the spot, by the courtesy of its present owner, Mr. Charles Holme.

The coloured plates have all been prepared by Messrs. W. Griggs and Sons,
from original drawings (or the actual fabrics), kindly lent by Messrs. Morris
and Co. and Mr. C. Fairfax Murray.

The collotypes (namely, " Angels in Adoration " and the six Windows) are
produced by Mr. James Hyatt ; the photogravure portrait is by the Swan
Electric Engraving Co., from a negative by Messrs. Elliott and Fry.

The reproductions in collotype from painted glass are from negatives
specially taken by Messrs. Sarony and Co., Scarborough, Mr. Wheeler, Oxford,
Mr. Lord, Cambridge, and Mr. James Hyatt.

The end papers are reduced from a design made by the author for the
Spitalfields Silk Association, by whose permission it is here reproduced.

The Initials of the Dedication, the Preface, and Chapters One and Eight
were designed by the author specially for this work. The rest of the initials
are from a volume entitled, " Preservation of Body, Soul, Honour, and Goods,"
printed at Nuremberg in 1489.

THE ARTOF WILLIAM MORRIS: CHAP
TER ONE: THE BEGINNING OF DAYS

HAT are you ? "

" I am an artist and a literary
man, pretty well known, I think,
throughout Europe."

It was on 21st September, 1885,
when some few members of the
Socialist League and others, having
tried on the previous day to test
the right of public speaking, were
charged at the Thames Police
Court with resisting the police whilst in the execution of their
duty, and also with obstructing the highway. Mr. William Morris
was present during the hearing of the case and subsequently was
placed at the bar for alleged disorderly behaviour in court. The
prosecution failing to make out a case against him, beyond the
fact, which he himself confessed, that he was carried away by
his feelings so far as to exclaim "shame" on the passing of the
sentence upon the prisoners, he was dismissed accordingly. The
above is the description Mr. Morris gave of himself in the course
of his examination by the magistrate on this same occasion. In
the daily press at the time there were not wanting some sneering
remarks about the artist's " European reputation." Neverthe-
less Mr. Morris's was no empty boast. Rather his own estimate
was considerably below the mark. For there needed not the past
ten years to spread his fame so much more widely but that,
even in 1885, he might justly have claimed, had he so chosen, to
be known in the four continents. No quarter of the globe but
contains either stained glass, carpets, tapestries, or other works
of art from the firm of Morris and Co., and as for Mr. Morris's
numerous writings in prose and verse, the extent of their circula-
tion is certainly not confined to the limits of the English-speaking
peoples.

How widely his 'works are studied and esteemed in the
United States of America, the numerous articles that have
appeared in different periodicals and reviews in New York and
in Boston, in Baltimore, in Cambridge, Mass., and in New
Haven bear witness. And as to France, which has so long
assumed itself, and has by too many among ourselves been
accepted as being the most artistic nation in the world, there
is a growing dissatisfaction with its own performances, and a

1 B

corresponding recognition of the superiority of the English
school of decoration with Mr. Morris at its head.

In this regard a significant fact may be noted. A well-
known French critic, in a notice of the new postage stamp
and its designer, suggests that now, in the person of Eugene
Grasset, a fitting object of artistic homage may be found nearer
home than William Morris. So completely does the writer
treat it as beyond question that, but for the genius discovered
thus tardily in their midst, his countrymen must yield the
highest place of honour to the English master before any of
their own people.

Of Welsh extraction, William Morris, the eldest son of his
parents, was born in Clay Street, in the village of Walthamstow,
Essex, in the year 1834. As many a one beside must with
gratitude own to having done, he imbibed his first impressions,
acquired his first taste for art and romance, from Sir Walter
Scott. For this writer he always cherished an enthusiastic
admiration, wherein he would not submit to be outdone even
by John Ruskin. Mr. Morris could not recall a time when he was
unable to read, and, by the early age of seven, had read the greater
part, if not indeed every word of Scott's works. From Scott it
was, in the first place, that he learned to love Gothic architecture,
though not, be it remarked, to apologize for loving it. But since
it is best to convey Mr. Morris's association of ideas in his own
words, let him speak for himself. '.' How well I remember as
a boy," he says, " my first acquaintance with a room hung
with faded greenery at Queen Elizabeth's Lodge, by Chingford
Hatch, in Epping Forest, and the impression of romance that
it made upon me ! a feeling that always comes back on me
when I read, as I often do, Sir Walter Scott's 'Antiquary,' and
come to the description of the green room at Monkbarns,
amongst which the novelist has with such exquisite cunning
of art imbedded the fresh and glittering verses of the summer
poet Chaucer."

Elsewhere Mr. Morris speaks of other pleasant reminiscences,
when, referring to the late Dr. Neale's carol of " Good King
Wenceslas," he says, " The legend itself is pleasing and a genuine
one, and the Christmas-like quality of it, recalling the times of
my boyhood, appeals to me at least as a happy memory of past
days." On the other hand the influences surrounding him in his
public school career, previously to which he had been sent to
Forest School in his native place, left a less agreeable if not less
enduring impression. " I was educated at Marlborough under
clerical masters, and I naturally rebelled against them."

William Morris was not above fourteen years old when,
about the year 1845, according to his own reckoning, was wit-
nessed "the first general appearance of the Pre-Raphaelites
before the public." But the time for him to come under their
influence was not yet. On the contrary he considered his early
training to have been that of a layman in the matter of painting
and the other arts. " I remember distinctly myself, as a boy,
that when I had pictures offered to my notice I could not under-
stand what they were about at all. I said ' Oh, well, that is all
right. It has got the sort of thing in it which there ought to be
in a picture. There is nothing to be said against it, no doubt. I
cannot say I would have it other than that, because it is clearly
the proper thing to do.' But really I took very little interest in
it, and I should think that would be the case with nine hundred
and ninety-nine out of every thousand of those people who had
not received definite technical instruction in the art, who were
not formally artists."

However, with Mr. Morris's undergraduate days he was
destined to undergo a great development. The 2nd June, 1852,
the date of his matriculation at Exeter College, Oxford, must be
regarded as marking one of the most momentous events in his
life. True, neither in his own time at the University, nor yet
for a considerable number of years later, was there any sort of
aesthetic tradition with regard to decoration of the rooms or the
surroundings of the men. But for all that the genius of the place
was more powerful then in the pre-aesthetic period of the early
fifties to leave a lasting impress on the sympathetic and receptive
than, as Mr. Morris never ceased to regret, it is now or probably
ever will be again. The early zeal of the Tractarian movement
had scarcely had time to cool, or to become diverted into side
issues ; the University Commission, the Gaul within the gates,
had not begun to carry out their reforming work. And as for
the old city itself, it was still, comparatively speaking, untouched
by modern "improvements" in the shape of new college build-
ings and new schools. His own college did not present a new
front to the Broad, neither had its homely old chapel been re-
placed by a brand-new travesty of St. Louis's thirteenth century
"Sainte Chapelle." Magdalen bridge had not yet been widened ;
neither did tramcars, only less obnoxious in such a place than
steamers on the Grand Canal at Venice, desecrate the High.
Mr. Morris has on more than one occasion expressed his opinion
quite candidly on the subject : " It is a grievous thing to have to
say, but say it I must, that the one most beautiful city of
England, the city of Oxford, has been ravaged for many years

past, not only by ignorant tradesmen, but by the University and
College authorities. Those whose special business it is to direct
the culture of the nation have treated the beauty of Oxford as if
it were a matter of no moment, as if their commercial interests
might thrust it aside without any consideration. . . . There are
many places in England where a young man may get as good
book-learning as in Oxford; not one where he can receive the
education which the loveliness of the gray city used to give us.
Call this sentiment if you please, but you know that it is true."
In another lecture he records how, while an undergraduate at
Oxford, he " first saw the city of Rouen, then still in its outward
aspect a piece of the Middle Ages : no words can tell you how
its mingled beauty, history and romance took hold on me ; I can
only say that, looking back on my past life," — after a lapse, that
is, of between thirty and forty years — " I find it was the greatest
pleasure I have ever had : and now it is a pleasure which no one
can ever have again : it is lost to the world for ever. . . .
Though not so astounding, so romantic, or at first sight so
mediaeval as the Norman city, Oxford in those days still kept a
good deal of its earlier loveliness ; and the memory of its grey
streets as they were has been an abiding influence and pleasure
in my life, and would be greater still if I could only forget what
they are now — a matter of far more importance than the so-called
learning of the place could have been to me in any case, but
which, as it was, no one tried to teach me, and I did not try to
learn." In another place Mr. Morris supplies further autobio-
graphical details relating to the same period. " Not long ago," —
it was in February, 1856, that these words appeared — " Not long
ago I saw for the first time some of the churches of North
France ; still more recently I saw them for the second time ; and,
remembering the love I have for them and the longing that was
in me to see them, during the time that came between the first
and second visit, I thought I should like to tell people of some of
those things I felt when I was there." However, as a matter of
fact, he does not describe in detail any church beside that named
in the sub-title of his article, viz., " Shadows of Amiens," wherein
he strikingly anticipates by many years Mr. Ruskin's " Bible of
Amiens." It was by the northernmost door of the great triple
porch of the west front that Mr. Morris made his first entrance.
" I think I felt inclined to shout when I first entered Amiens
Cathedral ; it is so free and vast and noble, I did not feel in the
least awestruck or humbled by its size and grandeur. I have not
often felt thus when looking on architecture, but have felt, at all
events at first, intense exultation at the beauty of it ; that, and a

certain kind of satisfaction in looking on the geometrical tracery
of the windows, on the sweeping of the huge arches, were, I think,
my first feelings in Amiens Cathedral." Proceeding to describe
the magnificent choir-stalls and the figure-subjects sculptured
upon them, he says that those he remembers best are the scenes
of the history of Joseph, and in particular that which represents
the dream of Pharaoh. " I think the lean kine about the best
bit of carving I have seen yet, . . . the most wonderful symbol of
famine ever conceived. I never fairly understood Pharaoh's
dream till I saw the stalls at Amiens."

But to return to Oxford. It was surely something more than
mere chance that there should have matriculated on the very
same day at the same college with William Morris the man
whose name must ever be associated with his, viz., Edward
Burne-Jones, "of whom indeed," said Mr. Morris, in 1891, at
Birmingham, the native place of the former, " I feel some
difficulty in speaking as the truth demands, because he is such a
close friend of mine." The two freshmen quickly became
acquainted, and, discovering how many tastes and aspirations
they had in common, were drawn together in intimate com-
radeship, a bond which has continued fast and unbroken to this
day. They shared one another's profound enthusiasm, it is
scarcely necessary to say, for the art and literature of the middle
ages. But that was not all. The Pre-Raphaelite movement,
which was by this time steadily making its way, was not wholly
unrepresented in the city of Oxford, where Mr. Combe, the
director of the Clarendon Press and a liberal art patron, had
already gathered together the nucleus of a Pre-Raphaelite collec-
tion. Amongst other works of which he acquired possession were
Holman Hunt's famous " Light of the World," and his less known
picture, "A family of Converted Britons succouring Christian
priests," and also Dante Gabriel Rossetti's beautiful water colour,
" Dante celebrating the anniversary of Beatrice's death." The
work of the latter artist only needed to become known to Morris
and Burne-Jones to find at once a responsive chord in the breasts
of the two friends ; for them to recognize in him the truest
exponent living of their own high ideals. It is difficult to say
which of the two conceived the more passionate admiration for
the great Pre-Raphaelite master. In the mind of either no doubt
remained as to his proper vocation, and both decided to devote
themselves to an artistic calling; and that notwithstanding the
prevailing bias of University opinion was decidedly adverse to
such a course, if we may accept what one of their friends wrote
in the "Oxford and Cambridge Magazine" in an Essay entitled

5 c

" Oxford." " The fine Arts," the writer remarks, " wherein Truth
appears in its most lovable aspect, where are they? Mr. Ruskin
says, bitterly, that only they who have had the blessing of a bad
education can be expected to know anything of painting. Cer-
tainly Oxford must bear a large share of the shame that in
England the fine Arts are considered only as ' accomplishments '
for ladies, and Artists are held to follow only a superior trade."
It was some time after Christmas, 1855, that Burne-Jones first
sought out Rossetti in London, with the intention of becoming his
pupil. Nor did long time elapse before he introduced his friend
Morris to his new-found master. Following the latter's advice,
Burne-Jones went down from Oxford without waiting to take his
degree, in order to begin his artistic studies without loss of time.
William Morris on the contrary, in no hurry to leave Oxford,
preferred to complete his University course, and took his B.A.
degree in 1856.

CHAPTER TWO:
DON.

OXFORD TO LON

ORRIS was, as has been stated, only a boy
at Marlborough College at the date of the
original formation of the Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood, nor was he at any time later
on enrolled formally in their ranks. Yet he
did not hold himself so far aloof but that he
became associated, like Ford Madox Brown,
who neither belonged to the Brotherhood,
with the most prominent members of the
school in more than one early enterprise.
In fact, to so large an extent was he influenced by them, that, if not
in absolute accord with their aims and theories in every detail, it
cannot be said that the standpoint from which he started differed
in any material degree from theirs. Now their principles, as
understood by Mr. Morris, and as set forth by him in the
already referred to address at Birmingham, are briefly as
follows : — Firstly, " the root doctrine, Naturalism," by no means to
be confounded with Realism in the modern sense, for " pictures
painted with that end in view will be scarcely works of Art."
The Naturalism of the Pre-Raphaelites meant the deriving in-
spiration direct from Nature, instead of allowing themselves to be
fettered by the lifeless conventions of Academical tradition. In the
second place, their work must have an epical quality; in other
words, they "aimed, some of them no doubt much more than
others, at the conscientious presentment of incident." The third
necessity is the ornamental quality. " No picture, it seems to
me," says Mr. Morris, " is complete unless it is something more
than a representation of nature and the teller of a tale. It ought
also to have a definite, harmonious, conscious beauty. It ought
to be ornamental. It ought to be possible for it to be part of a
beautiful whole in a room, or church, or hall. Now, of the
original Pre-Raphaelites, Rossetti was the man who mostly felt
that side of the art of painting ; all his pictures have a decorative
quality as an essential, and not as a mere accident of them." But
to add, for the fuller development of the school, what was lacking
of "the element oiperfeEl ornamentation," to vindicate its position
as representing " a branch of the great Gothic art which once
pervaded all Europe," one other distinguishing feature was neces-
sary, viz. : Romance ; " and this quality is eminently characteristic
of both Rossetti and Burne-Jones, but especially of the latter."
Is it permissible to go a step further and to affirm that all

these excellent qualities were yet inadequate, so long as the con-
summating quality, too apt to be overlooked just because of its
very humbleness, was lacking? that one which, in default of a
better name, may be called the domestic element ? Perhaps the
difference it made was not so much one of kind as of degree, of
the extent to which Pre-Raphaelite principles were capable of
application, or ought properly to be applied, to other arts beside
painting. It is due to William Morris that all arts were brought
within the comprehension of one and the same organic scheme ;
and herein he proved himself in advance of the Pre-Raphaelites,
that he succeeded in making the revival of art comprise a wider
and a profounder scope than they. True, one of them was a
sculptor, others men of letters ; but excepting the production of
the short-lived magazine " The Germ," until Mr. Morris joined
the movement the function of art in their hands had been confined
practically to the making of pictures ; and thus the best of their
works, in the nature of the case, could affect the public taste but
indirectly and to a limited degree. For a number of years such
pictures as were exhibited by the painters of the Pre-Raphaelite
school were to be found, as a rule, only in obscure galleries;
many were not shown to the public at all, but passed direct from
the artists' studios into the hands of private purchasers. In any
event, not the many but the few could possibly become the
fortunate possessors of original paintings. It is, therefore, a
supreme achievement of William Morris's to have brought Art,
through the medium of the handicrafts, within reach of thousands
who could never hope to obtain but a transitory view of Pre-
Raphaelite pictures ; his distinction, by decorating the less pre-
tending but no less necessary, articles of household furnishing, to
have done more than any man in the present century to beautify
the plain, every-day, home-life of the people.

That was a fitting tribute, paid in his official capacity of Vice-
President of the Society of Arts, when, taking the chair at the
reading of Mr. Morris's paper on the wood-cuts of Gothic Books,
Sir George Birdwood thus introduced the lecturer : — " It is not
only as a poet and an art critic that he is one of the first English-
men of the Victorian age. When the decorative arts of this
country had, about the middle of the present century, become
denationalised, it was Mr. William Morris ' who stemmed the
torrent of a downward age,' and, by the vigour of his characteristic
English genius, upraised those household arts again from the
degradation of nearly two generations, and carried them to a
perfection never before reached by them. ... A born decorator,
he knew that it is decoration that animates architecture, and all

form, with life and beauty. But being also a trained architect, he
from the first recognized that ornament was but an accessory to
construction of every kind, from the vessels turned on a potter's
wheel to the grandest creations of the builder's master art. Thus,
and by his commanding intellectual and moral personal influence
with his contemporaries, the future of English decorative design,
in all its applications, was redeemed by Mr. Morris."

But, not to anticipate, one must trace, step by step, the various
stages by which this came about. Referring to the time when
Mr. Morris found himself at the outset of his artistic career, the
late Mr. William Bell Scott wrote : " Morris's first step in this
direction was to article himself to George Edmund Street, then
located in the University town as architect to the diocese " of
Oxford. The very fact of his electing an architect's training
proves how thoroughly William Morris, as compared with the
others of the movement, had grasped the fundamental idea of the
nature and essence of Art. If not the first of them to recognize in
theory, he was at any rate the first to act logically upon what is
involved by the principle that all true ornament must be derived
from and allied to some archetypal form of architecture, not
necessarily in so pronounced a manner as to be obvious at first
sight, yet always in such a way as may be disclosed on analysis.
To William Morris architecture is at once the basis and crowning-
point of every other art, the standard by which all the rest must be
dominated and appraised : again and again has he insisted that no
sound art can exist as the common practice and possession of a
nation which has lost its architectural traditions. Thus he him-
self puts the case; — "A true architectural work is a building
duly provided with all the necessary furniture, decorated with all
due ornament, according to the use, quality and dignity of the
building, from mere mouldings or abstract lines, to the great
epical works of sculpture and painting, which, except as decora-
tions of the nobler form of such buildings, cannot be produced at
all. So looked on, a work of architecture is a harmonious, co-
operative work of art, inclusive of all the serious arts, all those
which are not engaged in the production of mere toys, or of
ephemeral prettinesses."

This, then, is the keynote of Morris's art doctrine, the secret of
his own masterful power of constructive ornament. Whether or
not he intend to devote his life to an architect's profession, no
better education for an artist can be desired than that he should
be strengthened at the beginning with an architectural back-bone.
Consider for instance the one continental decorator who, beside
the honourable exception of M. Serrurier of Liege, may be said

9 d

to share in any notable degree the aesthetic qualities of the English
school, that is, of the school of Morris. Although it is true that
neither does Eugene Grasset any longer practise as an architect,
still when one contrasts his work with that which generally
passes for decoration in the modern French school, the remark-
able breadth and versatility of his designs must be attributed to
the early discipline of his architectural training.

Judged by the standard of the present day, Mr. Morris's choice
of a master may be indeed not a little surprising. Nay, in view
of Mr. Street's neo-thirteenth century platitudes, more particu-
larly in view of his largest and most conspicuous performance, the
Courts of Justice in Fleet Street, it is hard to imagine how, save
by way of warning what at all hazards to avoid, there could have
been anything to be learnt from such a teacher by the pupil so
gifted. Mr. Morris, with generous loyalty, has indeed written :
" As to public buildings, Mr. Street's law-courts are the last
attempt we are likely to see of producing anything reasonable or
beautiful for that use." And in addition it is only fair to recall
the fact that time was when in cases of proposed " restorations "
of ancient churches, etc., cautious and discriminating judges of
these matters used to consider Street, among the contemporary
architects, the most capable and the safest man to be entrusted
with the responsibility of dealing with these precious handiworks
that our fathers have bequeathed to us. Moreover, for upwards
of five years, from May 1852, the date when, by the advice of
Mr. J. H. Parker, he migrated from Wantage, Mr. Street had been
quartered in Oxford. Thence he eventually moved to Montague
Place, Bloomsbury ; but his residence in the University city
coincided exactly with the space of Morris's undergraduate
period. During that time and onwards Mr. Street continued to
maintain the kindliest attitude towards the leaders of the aesthetic
revival. " The Pre-Raphaelite movement," to quote the memoir
written by his son Arthur Edmund Street, " found in him a
hearty and earnest adherent, and one who on many occasions,
by writing and speaking, impressed on his brethren the importance
and propriety of their giving it all the moral support in their
power. He felt truly that the aim of the young enthusiasts, who
were striving for truth before everything, was, in their particular
field, identical with the aim of the leaders of the Gothic revival in
the field of architecture. His known views speedily brought him
into relations of friendship with many of those who belonged to
the Pre-Raphaelite group, or were in sympathy with it." So after
all it is not difficult to account for the fact of Mr. Morris having
been drawn to look for the realization of his hopes under Mr.

Street's tuition. For a time, at least, he entered with enthusiasm
into his master's projects. For instance, there happened an open
competition of designs for a Cathedral to be erected at Lille. The
announcement had been made in the previous year, 1855. The
chief condition stipulated on was that the building must be in the
French Gothic style. Morris's principal was one of the English
architects who prepared and sent in designs. Contrary to usual
custom, the several drawings were shown to the public before
being submitted to the jury for selection. Mr. Street, accompanied
by William Morris, took the occasion to run over to Lille for a
few days' visit, and wrote home thence with reference to the
designs. " We have had about three hours at the Exhibition. We

are agreed naturally that I ought to have place No. 1 I

really think I shall have one of the prizes. Morris says the
first." The pupil's over sanguine, yet pardonable, expectations
were not destined to be fulfilled ; for as a matter of fact Street's
design, though not passed over altogether, was awarded only
the second prize.

It was a comparatively short time that Morris continued under
Street's tuition. Not the least of Morris's characteristics was his
remarkable gift of concentration ; and this, together with the
astounding rapidity with which he used to go straight to the root
of a matter and mastered in the space of a few months, or even
weeks, that of which it would take an ordinary mortal as many
years of laborious application to learn may be the bare rudiments,
fortunately made it unnecessary for him to submit to be hampered
overlong by the irksome routine of office-work. He preferred to
sacrifice the premium he had paid, if by so doing he might strike
out an independent line of action for himself. He never qualified
nor entered the formal profession of architect.

One circumstance, of no little importance in his subsequent
career, Mr. Morris owed to the period of his brief discipleship,
namely his becoming acquainted with his friend Philip Webb, at
that time employed in Mr. Street's office, at the present day well
known as an architect in practice in Raymond Buildings,
Gray's Inn.

On going down from Oxford in 1856, Mr. Morris settled in
lodgings with his friend Burne-Jones at 17, Red Lion Square,
where they shared a studio in common. There was, indeed, at
the beginning of the next year, some idea of extending the menage
so as to form a sort of college of artists working together with
kindred tastes and aims, but for some reason or other, the
plan was not found to be practicable, and so nothing came of it.

Another event of 1856 was the appearance of "The Oxford

and Cambridge Magazine," in the preparation of which, under the
direction of Rev. Canon R. W. Dixon and Mr. William Fulford,
Mr. Morris took a prominent part. Conducted by members of
the two Universities, the magazine was issued in London from
the house of Messrs. Bell and Daldy. This serial lasted exactly
a year, being published in monthly numbers from January to
December inclusive. Originally sold at one shilling per part, it
has now become both scarce and valuable. Mr. Morris's own
copy is kept secure under lock and key ; while that in the British
Museum is to be seen only by the reader who, passing through a
barrier into an inner room, remains under the immediate obser-
vation of one of the library officials. The contents of the magazine
consist of essays, tales, poems, and notices of books, all the matter
except the verse being printed in double columns. One or two
contributions are initialled, but not one appears with the full
signature of its author. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who, however,
was not connected with the " Oxford and Cambridge Magazine "
for the first half year of its existence, contributed " The Burden of
Nineveh" to the August part, "The Blessed Damozel," a version
of which already had appeared in " The Germ," to the November
part, and "The Staff and Scrip" in December. Among other
writers were Vernon Lushington, Jex-Blake and Burne-Jones.
But the largest contributor was William Morris, who furnished a
series of short prose romances, and a certain number of poems,
which immediately signalized their author as a man of extra-
ordinary talents, on the strength of which it was not rash for his
friends and others to whom his identity was known to augur that
a brilliant future in the world of letters awaited him. It was
evident that Ruskin had influenced him to no small extent, and
also that he was imbued very deeply with the spirit of mediaeval
romance. " Perhaps the best of Morris's tales in the ' Oxford and
Cambridge Magazine,' " says the late William Bell Scott, " were
' Gertha's Lovers ' and the ' Hollow Land,' but all of his contribu-
tions were unmistakable in imaginative beauty, and will some
day be republished." The poems which first saw the light in the
magazine, with the exception of that entitled " Winter Weather,"
did in fact appear in the volume which Mr. Morris published two
years later. But as regards the prose writings, unhappily the
day for the fulfilment of Bell Scott's prediction has not yet
arrived. Nor, seeing how severe a critic Mr. Morris was of his
own work, and how sensitive he was on the subject of whatever
he deemed immature experiments of his, was it probable that he
ever would have consented to reprint any of his early writings in
prose that were included in the "Oxford and Cambridge Magazine."

And so they still lie buried, these " wonderful prose fantasies " of
Mr. Morris's, " these strangely coloured and magical dreams," as
Mr. Andrew Lang not inaptly calls them. If " Lindenborg Pool "
may not be accounted among the best or the most original of
Morris's tales, nevertheless there attaches to it a peculiar
interest, because of its opening passage, " I read once in lazy
humour Thorpe's ' Northern Mythology ' on a cold May night
when the north wind was blowing; in lazy humour, but when
I came to the tale that is here amplified, there was something
in the tale that fixed my attention and made me think of it ;
and whether I would or no, my thoughts ran in this way, as
here follows. So I felt obliged to write, and wrote accordingly,
and by the time I had done the grey light filled all my room ;
so I put out my candles, and went to bed, not without fear and
trembling, for the morning twilight is so strange and lonely."
The above should not fail to be noted as the earliest published
reference to its author's being attracted to a branch of study —
Norse folk-lore and language, to wit — the knowledge of which
he has done so much to extend amongst us that he may be said
to have imparted additional distinction to the olden literature, and
to have given it a fresh lease of life that shall endure, coupled
henceforward with his own illustrious name, as long as the
English tongue is spoken.

CHAPTER THREE: ART AND POE-
TRY.

OT more than nine months had expired
when Morris, having thrown up his
articles with Mr. Street, came to Town.
Established there with his friend Edward
Burne-Jones, at an age when, on looking
back after ten or eleven years, he deemed
| himself as having been "pretty much a
boy," it was only natural that Morris
should begin to enlarge his circle of
literary and artistic acquaintances. In
a letter to William Bell Scott in 1875,
acknowledging the gift of a book of verse by that writer, Morris
refers to these early days and thanks him for " the poems that I
first found so sympathetic when I came up to London years ago."
Rossetti, "the greatest man in Europe," as Burne-Jones then
regarded him, writes thus to Bell Scott in the spring of the year
1857, " Two young men, projectors of ' The Oxford and Cambridge
Magazine,' have recently come to town from Oxford, and are now
very intimate friends of mine. Their names are Morris and
Jones." (How commonplace a sound has this introductory men-
tion, and how little suggestive of the celebrity they were ulti-
mately to attain !) " They have turned artists instead of taking
up any other career to which the University generally leads, and
both are men of real genius. Jones's designs are marvels of finish
and imaginative detail, unequalled by anything unless perhaps
Albert Durer's finest works ; and Morris, though without practice
as yet, has no less power, I fancy. He has written some really
wonderful poetry too." That " the powers of the two men were
very distinct" is the judgment which, when Bell Scott came to
know them, himself formed and left on record in his " Autobio-
graphical Notes."

Morris now set to work in real earnest, the preparation of
his first volume of poems occupying no small portion of his time
and attention. Nevertheless, he did not devote his energies
exclusively to literature. In June, 1857, Rossetti writes again to
Bell Scott, " Morris has as yet done nothing in art, but is now
busily painting his first picture, ' Sir Tristram after his illness, in
the garden of King Mark's Palace, recognized by the dog he had
given to Iseult,' from the ' Morte d'Arthur.' It is being done all
from nature of course, and I believe will turn out capitally."

Rossetti was mainly instrumental, with others of Morris's

friends, in founding the Club known as the " Hogarth," a name of
evil promise — so one might have supposed — to any who seriously
entertained hopes of the regeneration of English art. Mr. William
Michael Rossetti is the authority for saying that " the original
Hogarth Club was so named on the ground that Hogarth was
the first great figure in British art, and still remains one of the
greatest. Madox Brown (not to speak of other projectors of the
Club) entertained this view very strongly, and I think it probable
that he was the proposer of the name." But for this statement one
would have believed that the choice of style could only have been
one of those audacious whims wheretoward youthfulness, prone
to paradox, will sometimes be drawn. Be that as it may, from
its foundation and first meeting in July, 1858, down to April, 1861,
when it was dissolved, the Hogarth Club proved a select resort of
many distinguished men of the advanced artists and litterateurs
of the time. It counted among its members, beside William
Morris and the two brothers Rossetti, Mr. F. G. Stephens, who
was Honorary Secretary, Lord Houghton, Sir Frederick Leighton,
Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Col. Gillum, and Messrs. J. Ruskin,
Ford Madox Brown, Spencer Stanhope, G. F. Watts, Arthur
Hughes, Thomas Woolner, Hungerford Pollen, A. C. Swinburne,
the Lushingtons, R. B. Martineau, Henry Wallis, P. A. Daniell,
G. F. Bodley, John Brett, Eyre Crowe, Jun., Michael F. Halliday,
W. Holman Hunt, Edward Lear, Val. Prinsep, W. Bell Scott,
George Edmund Street, Philip Webb, Benjamin Woodward,
and various other men of mark. At the picture exhibitions held
under its auspices from time to time, works of the Pre-Raphaelite
school were sure of finding a welcome. Moving, after no long
while, from its original premises at 178, Piccadilly, the Hogarth
then continued for the remainder of its existence at 6, Waterloo
Place. It had no connection of any sort — it may be observed — with
the Club which at present bears the same name, in Dover Street.
The year 1858 was one "which seems," says Mr. George
Saintsbury in " Corrected Impressions," " to have exercised a
very remarkable influence on the books and persons born in it,"
since " the books (as biographers and bibliographers have before
noticed) were unusually epoch-making." It was in this year
that Morris published his first book. To be quite accurate one
must not omit to record that the earliest work to bear the name
of William Morris for author was a short poem, " Sir Galahad :
a Christmas mystery " (Messrs. Bell and Daldy) ; but seeing that
it only preceded " The Defence of Guenevere and other Poems "
by a few months, and was incorporated in that volume, there is
no need here to treat of it as a separate work. The significance of

" The Defence of Guenevere," all things considered, has never
perhaps been appreciated as was due. A young man, but twenty-
four years old, Morris must be regarded for all intents and pur-
poses as a pioneer in his kind. Tennyson's " Idylls of the King"
had not as yet appeared ; nor ought it to be forgotten that at this
date the published poems of Rossetti, who is generally accredited
as standing to Morris in the relationship of master to disciple, did
not consist of above a few occasional pieces contributed to perio-
dicals. One has no desire, of course, to deny that the older poet
had already written a number of poems that Morris must have
heard or read privately. Indeed, he himself was only too ready
to acknowledge his indebtedness to Rossetti ; whereof the dedi-
cation of " The Defence of Guenevere," " to my friend, Dante
Gabriel Rossetti, painter," is evidence enough and to spare, if
such were wanted. But at the same time it must be borne in
mind that Morris was before him in making the venture of pub-
lishing a collection of poems that should court success or failure
openly before the world. " This book was and is," says William
Bell Scott, " the most notable first volume of any poet ; many of
the poems represent the mediaeval spirit in a new way, not by
a sentimental-nineteenth-century-revival-mediaevalism, but they
give a poetical sense of a barbaric age strongly and sharply real.
Woolner wrote to me at the time of publication, ' I believe they
are exciting a good deal of attention among the intelligent on the
outlook for something new.' " So recently, however, as 1895, Mr.
Saintsbury could write on the subject of Mr. Morris, " It has
always seemed to me that not merely the general, but even the
critical public, ranks him far below his proper station as a poet."
An appreciative writer, the late Mr. Walter Pater, in an essay on
" Esthetic Poetry " (1868), while as yet only the first part of " The
Earthly Paradise " had appeared, accounts Morris as the type
and personification of the poetry of the revived romantic school.
This new poetry, according to him, takes possession of a trans-
figured world, " and sublimates beyond it another still fainter and
more spectral, which is literally an artificial or ' Earthly Para-
dise.' It is a finer ideal, extracted from what, in relation to any
actual world, is already an ideal. Like some strange, second
flowering after date, it renews on a more delicate type the poetry
of a past age, but must not be confounded with it." The earliest
of the modern romanticists, as represented by Scott and Goethe,
had dealt with but one, and that the most superficial, aspect of
mediaeval poetry, viz., its purely adventurous side. Later the
elements of mediaeval passion and mysticism were embodied in
the works of Victor Hugo in France and of Heine in Germany.

But in "The Defence of Guenevere " Mr. Pater discerns "a
refinement upon this later, profounder mediaevalism " and " the
first typical specimen of aesthetic poetry." The book was in truth
phenomenal. Its like had not before been known in England ;
where hitherto, as Mr. George Saintsbury rightly remarks, " only
one or two snatches of Coleridge and Keats had caught the
peculiar mediaeval tone which the pre-Raphaelites in poetry,
following the pre-Raphaelites in art, were now about to sound.
Even ' La Belle Dame sans Merci,' that wonderful divination,
in which Keats hit upon the true and very mediaeval, ... is an
exception, a casual inspiration rather than a full reflection." The
strange gift of insight displayed in the just named poem of Keats,
and less fully in Coleridge's " Christabel," has perhaps no parallel
in history, nor one in fiction, save in Rudyard Kipling's " Finest
Story in the World." Even in the case of the two poets in whom
it was manifested it was, as it were, an inspiration vouchsafed
for the occasion only, to be immediately afterwards withdrawn.
Neither of them was able to follow it up consistently : and
Coleridge wittingly left "Christabel" a fragment. But with Morris
the exact opposite v/as the case. His " Defence of Guenevere "
and the three poems next in order in the volume were satu-
rated through and through with the true and vital essence of
Arthurian romance ; while the remaining poems savoured not
less thoroughly of the very atmosphere of the middle ages.
There was nothing that had found its way into these pages by
haphazard, nothing sporadic ; but the whole book from end to end
v/as alive with the antique spirit of the days of chivalry, recreated
and quickened by the hand of genius. Withal there was some
indefinable quality superadded of the poet's very own. And so,
possessing as they did " the bizarrerie of a new thing in beauty,"
the " imperishable fantasies " of " The Defence of Guenevere "
" did fill a fresh page in English poetry." Nor was he yet, it has
been observed, under the influence of Chaucer, whose narrative
manner v/as to inspire the poems Morris published later.

Of the poems contained in " The Defence of Guenevere," &c,
the following had appeared previously in " The Oxford and Cam-
bridge Magazine," viz., " The Chapel in Lyoness ; " the concluding
part of " Rapunzel," under the title " Hands ; " " Riding Together,"
and " Summer Dawn." This last, in its original form, lacked a
title ; while the first line of it, " Pray but one prayer for us 'twixt
thy closed lips," was now altered to " Pray but one prayer for me,"
&c. The poem " Golden Wings " is not to be confounded with the
prose tale which Morris contributed with the same title to the
Magazine.

17 F

It is interesting, moreover, to note the interchange of ideas
consequent on the intimacy of the group of artist friends ; their
common studies acting and reacting upon them, and supplying
some with themes for poems, some for pictures. Often it is a
problem to determine whether it was the verse of one that
suggested the painting of the other or vice versa. Thus the
Arthurian legend, rhymed by Morris in " The Defence of
Guenevere," was with Rossetti and his friends at this time a
favourite for illustration. Not only are the wall paintings in the
Debating Hall, the present Library, of the Union Society at
Oxford, a case in point ; but a certain number also of sketches
and water-colours of Rossetti's, belonging to this period, bear the
identical titles borne by poems of Morris's, e.g., " King Arthur's
Tomb," or the last meeting of Lancelot and Guenevere ; " Sir
Galahad ; " " The Blue Closet," and " The Tune of Seven Towers ; "
while other drawings, such as that of " Lancelot in the Chamber
of Guenevere," are obvious representations of incidents described
in the poetry of Morris. Some of these works of Rossetti's were
actual commissions executed by him for Morris, from whom
afterwards they were purchased by Mr. George Rae. Again,
" Burd Ellayne," the central figure in Morris's spirited ballad of
" Welland River," was pictured by Rossetti and became the pro-
perty of the late Mr. J. Leathart of Gateshead on Tyne. In the
way of reading, Pastor William Meinhold's wonderful romance of
" Sidonia the Sorceress " was, to use Morris's own words, " a great
favourite with the more literary part of the pre-Raphaelite artists
in the earlier days of that movement." Their common delight in
it produced, for immediate result, " two beautiful water-colour
pictures of Sidonia and Clara von Dewitz " by Sir Edward Burne-
Jones ; while on Morris's imagination it took powerful hold, as no
one could fail to be assured who had once had the privilege of
hearing him read aloud a passage such, for instance, as that
which relates how Lord Otto von Bork received the homage of
Vidante von Meseritz and his feudal vassals. Morris simply
revelled in the description of the knights riding into the hall,
each with his blazoned banner displayed ; and one can imagine
how he would have relished giving the order, " the kinsman in full
armour shall ride into the hall upon his war-horse, bearing the
banner of his house in his hand, and all my retainers shall follow
on horses, each bearing his banner also, and shall range them-
selves by the great window of the hall ; and let the windows be
open, that the wind may play through the banners and make the
spectacle yet grander." This final direction was one which
Morris knew how to appreciate to the full. Nor did the deep

impression fade from his mind with the lapse of time, but was
destined to take practical form years afterwards in a reprint of
the book from the Kelmscott Press. Indeed, throughout the
career of the two friends nothing is more striking than the close
parallel presented in the subjects chosen by them for treatment in
their several ways, by Morris for poetry, by Burne-Jones for
pictorial illustration. But these are points which will have to be
detailed later on.

Meanwhile, to resume the consideration of " The Defence of
Guenevere and other Poems." Strong as is the temptation to
quote largely, one must be content with a verse or two to demon-
strate certain charming characteristics of the poet. " The Eve of
Crecy " contains two magnificent examples of that mode of poetic
expression, dubbed "echolalia" by Max Nordau, and as such
condemned by him ; a mode which, if few may attempt it with
safety, is yet, in the hands of so consummate a master as Morris,
unsurpassed for the peculiarly soothing and satisfying sense of
beauty it produces.

" Gold on her head, and gold on her feet,
And gold where the hems of her kirtle meet,
And a golden girdle round my sweet ; —

Ah! qiielle est belle La Marguerite."

And again, a few stanzas lower down we read : —

" Yet even now it is good to think
*****

Of Margaret sitting glorious there,
In glory of gold and glory of hair,
And glory of glorious face most fair ; —

Ah ! qiielle est belle La Marguerite"

The refrains are always melodious and grateful, whether,
as in the case of " Two red roses across the moon," they seem to
have no necessary connection with the body of the poem, or
whether, as in the case of " The Sailing of the Sword," on the
other hand, they form, with slight variations from verse to verse,
an integral part in the progress of the ballad-story. The same
poem may illustrate Morris's gift of conveying, and that too from
a point of view as fresh as it is convincing, the most graphic
impression in the shortest number of words : e.g.,

" The hot sun bit the garden beds,"
and

" Grey gleamed the thirsty castle-leads ; "
19

or this night-scene : —

" The while the moon did watch the wood,"
from " Riding Together ; " or this :—

" After these years the flowers forget their blood,"

from the poem "Concerning Geffray Teste Noire." Yet again
take the refrain of the poem called " The Wind" :—

" Wind, wind ! thou art sad, art thou kind ?

Wind, wind, unhappy ! thou art blind,

Yet still thou wanderest the lily-seed to find."

What an exquisite thought is enshrined in the last line ! Here is
a picture from " King Arthur's Tomb " : —

" I gazed upon the arras giddily,

Where the wind set the silken kings a-sway."

And, once more, how perfect a description is the following, from
" Golden Wings " :—

" No answer through the moonlit night ;

No answer in the cold grey dawn ;

No answer when the shaven lawn
Grew green, and all the roses bright."

Nothing is wanting here. No paraphrasing of words, no further
detail could express the sense more vividly or more completely
than the poet has done in these four short, simple lines.

It may not be amiss, before leaving the subject of " The
Defence of Guenevere," to gather from the writings of some com-
petent critics a few judgments concerning the work ; dismissing,
before the rest, that estimate which is the least favourable. Mr.
Henry G. Hewlett, in the " Contemporary Review " for December,
1874, is of opinion that " Quaint archaisms of diction, forced and
bald rhymes, wilful obscurity, harshness, not to say ugliness of
metaphor, disfigure nearly every page." Having said this much,
however, the very worst that anyone with any show of fairness
could possibly say, he continues: " But a just and careful critic
could not fail to discern that the singer was worthier than his
song. He had so saturated his imagination with the glow of
chivalric romance and Catholic mythology as to be incapable for
the moment of anything beyond reproduction. But the receptive
and assimilative power which enabled him to apprehend thus
intimately the spirit of so remote an age, and imitate thus faith-
fully the relics of its living literature, required only time and

training to mature into one of the richest of poetic faculties. No
sign of this power is more marked in the volume than the tone of
naif unconsciousness which the writer has caught from his
models. His personality is never visible ; he never preaches ;
dispenses praise and blame but rarely, and then in accordance
with a standard not of his own raising. With calm impartiality
he sets forth in successive pictures the double aspect in which the
love of Guenevere for Lancelot seems to have presented itself to
mediaeval imagination, — the view adopted by Chivalry, and the
view sanctioned by the Church. In 'The Defence of Guenevere'
she is a Phryne, voluptuous, imperial, irresistible ; in ' King
Arthur's Tomb,' a Magdalen, tortured by remorse and tempted by
passion, but sustained by penitence and faith unto the end. In
' Sir Galahad ' the portrait of the saint-knight is painted with a
truthfulness that atones for whatever clumsiness of handling may
at first repel us. He is represented as setting out in his quest of
the San-Greal with sharp misgivings of spirit as to the career of
chastity to which he must vow himself. He witnesses the tender
leave-taking of a lady and her knight, and thinks sorrowfully that
for him no maiden will mourn if he falls. He recalls the loves of
Lancelot and Guenevere, of Tristram and Iseult, and is tempted
to envy their happiness and forget their sin. But in the chapel
where he passes his first vigil, he has a vision of

" ' One sitting on the altar as a throne,
Whose face no man could say he did not know,

And though the bell still rang, He sat alone,

With raiment half blood-red, half white as snow.'

" Overpowered with shame, he sinks nerveless on the floor."
Then are heard the tender accents of the Divine Wisdom con-
descending to reason with His wavering servant. " The struggle
in the youth's soul ceases ere the voice dies into silence, and the
vision of the San-Greal is then revealed to eyes fitted to perceive it.

" The minor poems, of which the greater number are ballads,
bear the same marks of the writer's thorough sympathy with a
particular era of history and type of literature. . . . His attempts
seem to us as successful as any that have since been made.
' The Sailing of the Sword,' which is the least imitative, and
therefore the freest from affectations, approaches, perhaps, as
nearly as a modern ballad can hope to do, the genuine simplicity
of the antique."

Of the latter portion of the work Mr. Andrew Lang writes,
" Leaving the Arthurian cycle Mr. Morris entered on his specially
sympathetic period — the gloom and sad sunset glory of the late

2S G

fourteenth century, the age of Froissart, and wicked wasteful wars.
To Froissart it all seemed one magnificent pageant of knightly
and kingly fortunes ; he only murmurs ' a great pity ' for the
death of a knight or the massacre of a town. It is rather the pity
of it that Mr. Morris sees hearts broken in a corner, as in ' Sir
Peter Harpdon's End,' or beside 'The Haystack in the Floods.'
. . . The astonishing vividness, again, of the tragedy told in
' Geffray Teste Noire ' is like that of a vision in a magic mirror or
crystal ball, rather than like a picture suggested by printed
words. ' Shameful Death ' has the same enchanted kind of present-
ment. We look through a ' magic casement opening on the foam '
of the old waves of war. Poems of a pure fantasy, unequalled
out of Coleridge and Poe, are ' The Wind ' and ' The Blue Closet.'
Each only lives in fantasy. Motives and facts and story are
unimportant and out of view. The pictures arise distinct, un-
summoned, spontaneous, like the faces and places which are
flashed on our eyes between sleeping and waking. Fantastic too,
but with more of recognizable human setting, is ' Golden Wings.' "
Another critic, Mr. Buxton Forman, in " Our Living Poets "
(1871), says of" The Defence of Guenevere and other Poems," the
" volume has very striking affinities with the poetry of more than
one contemporary writer. Mr. Rossetti's influence is the easiest
to discern ; but there are also several attempts at psychological art,
clearly indicating Browning's influence. . . . Connected mainly
with the age of Chivalry in subject, every page is full of an ex-
quisite tender feeling; and in many instances there is great splen-
dour of imagination. . . . Several small poems are master-pieces
in their way ; and every poem in the book is full of beauties. But
such pieces as ' Shameful Death,' ' The Judgment of God,' and
' Old Love,' monologues dealing subtly with the soul, have more
real analogy with ballad poetry than with monologue poetry of the
modern type, and would probably have been more perfect had they
been executed in ballad form. In ' The Judgment of God ' in
particular, the actual point of time whereat the monologue is
spoken is anything but clearly distinguished from points of past
time referred to. It is interesting to compare this piece with
' The Haystack in the Floods,' which is admirably graphic in
narration, and as complete and excellent in its degree as are
some later higher flights of Mr. Morris. 'The Judgment of
God ' is spoken by an evil-hearted knight about to engage in
single combat with a good knight, who, as he fears, is to over-
come him ; the mental material is the series of thoughts passing
through the false knight's mind immediately before engaging
in the combat ; and so mistily are some of the verses framed,

that it is hard to know whether the facfts referred to in them
have just taken place or are from the storehouse of old
memories. . . . With Mr. Morris this want of perspicuity finds
its preventive in direct narration, as in ' The Haystack in the
Floods.' The subject of the poem is not in itself so simple as the
other ; but, instead of either of the principal actors being com-
missioned with the narrative, the whole is given to us in Mr.
Morris's own clear objective style. . . . The physiology and
psychology in the sketch of Jehane are alike excellent. ... It is
probable that, were Mr. Morris treating a similar subject to this
now, we should miss a certain fierceness that exists in it as
matters stand. . . . ' Sir Peter Harpdon's End ' is an excessively
clever little play in five scenes ; but it falls as far short of dramatic
excellence as the monologues fall short of technical excellence in
their kind."

" Over the first fortunes of a newly-born work of art," writes
Algernon Charles Swinburne, who, as an undergraduate at Balliol,
had made Morris's acquaintance at Oxford in 1857, " accident must
usually preside for good or for evil. Over the earliest work of the
artist . . . that purblind leader of the blind, accident, presided
on the whole for evil. Here and there it met with eager recogni-
tion and earnest applause; nowhere, if I err not, with just praise
or blame worth heeding. It seems to have been now lauded and
now decried as the result and expression of a school rather than a
man, of a theory or tradition rather than a poet or student. . . .
Such things as were in the book are taught and learnt in no
school but that of instinct. Upon no piece of work in the world
■was the impress of native character ever more distinctly stamped,
more deeply branded. ... In form, in structure, in composition,
few poems can be . . . faultier than those of Mr. Morris, which
deal with the legend of Arthur and Guenevere. ... I do not
speak here of form in the abstract and absolute sense. ... I
speak of that secondary excellence always necessary to perfection
but not always indispensable to the existence of art. These first
poems of Mr. Morris are not malformed ; . . . but they are not
well-clad ; . . . they have need sometimes of combing and
trimming. Take that one for example called ' King Arthur's Tomb.'
It has not been constructed at all ; the parts hardly hold together.
. . . There is scarcely any connection here, and scarcely com-
position. . . . But where among other and older poets of his
time and country, is there one comparable for perception and
expression of tragic truth, of subtle and noble, terrible and piteous
things ? Where a touch of passion at once so broad and so sure ?
The figures here given have the blood and breath, the shape and

step of life ; they can move and suffer ; their repentance is as real
as their desire ; their shame lies as deep as their love. They are
at once remorseful for the sin and regretful of the pleasure that is
past. The retrospective vision of Lancelot and of Guenevere is
as passionate and profound as life. Riding towards her without
hope, in the darkness and heat of the way, he can but divert and
sustain his spirit by the recollection of her loveliness and her love,
seen long since asleep and waking, in another place than this, on
a distant night. . . . Retrospect and vision, natural memories
and spiritual, here coalesce ; and how exquisite is the retrospect,
and how passionate the vision, of past light and colour in the sky,
past emotion and conception in the soul ! Not in the idyllic school
is a chord ever struck, a note ever sounded, so tender and subtle
as this. Again, when Guenevere has maddened herself and him
with 'wild words of reproach and remorse, abhorrence and
attraction, her sharp and sudden memory of old sights and sounds
and splendid irrevocable days finds word and form not less noble
and faithful to fact and life. . . . Such verses are not forgetable.
They are not, indeed, — as are the ' Idylls of the King,' — the work
of a dexterous craftsman in full practice. Little beyond dexterity,
a rare eloquence, and a laborious patience of hand, has been given
to the one or denied to the other. These are good gifts and great ;
but it is better to want clothes than limbs."

Mr. Pater, in the work already quoted, says : " The poem
which gives its name to the volume is a thing tormented and
awry with passion, like the body of Guenevere defending herself
from the charge of adultery, and the accent falls in strange, un-
wonted places with the effect of a great cry. . . . Reverie,
illusion, delirium : they are the three stages of a fatal descent
both in the religion and the loves of the Middle Ages. . . . The
English poet, too, has learned the secret. He has diffused
through ' King Arthur's Tomb ' the maddening white glare of the
sun, the tyranny of the moon, not tender and far-off, but close
down — the sorcerer's moon, large and feverish. The colouring is
intricate and delirious, as of ' scarlet lilies.' The influence of
summer is like a poison in one's blood, with a sudden bewildered
sickening of life and all things. In ' Galahad : a Mystery,' the
frost of Christmas night on the chapel stones acts as a strong
narcotic : a sudden shrill ringing pierces through the numbness :
a voice proclaims that the Grail has gone forth through the great
forest. It is in the ' Blue Closet ' that this delirium reaches its
height with a singular beauty, reserved perhaps for the enjoy-
ment of the few. . . . Those in whom what Rousseau calls les
frayeurs nocturnes are constitutional, know what splendour they

give to the things of the morning. . . . The crown of the
English poet's book is one of these appreciations of the dawn :
• Pray but one prayer for me 'twixt thy closed lips,' &c. It is the
very soul of the bridegroom which goes forth to the bride :
inanimate things are longing with him : all the sweetness of
the imaginative loves of the Middle Age, with a superadded
spirituality of touch all its own, is in that ! "

Lastly, in " The Academy," just a week after William Morris's
death, Mr. Robert Steele wrote : " Living as we do in surround-
ings so modified by the efforts of its author, we cannot fully
estimate the worth of this little volume. It is totally unlike any
other of his works." This is perfectly true. " The Defence of
Guenevere and other Poems " is but a small book, and were its
bulk alone to be the measure of value, the amount of space devoted
to it in these pages might well seem disproportionate. It is, on
the contrary, altogether inadequate. For this remarkable collec-
tion of poems stands alone not only in the literature of our age
and of our country, but, what is more to the present purpose,
alone also among its author's own productions.

CHAPTERFOUR: BETWEENWHILES.
THE RED HOUSE.

IS " Defence of Guenevere " finished and
sent to press, William Morris did not
rest idly. Before the work was yet
issued he had applied himself, with his
wonted industry, it must not be said to
the composing — for the very idea of any-
thing forced and artificial was foreign to
the spontaneity of his nature — but to the
inditing of more poetry ; the greater part
of which, however, was suffered to re-
main unpublished. Nor would it, maybe,
have survived at all, but for the friendly intervention of Mr.
Charles Fairfax Murray, who preserves the manuscript among
the most valued of his treasures. Of the number of Morris's
poems that belong to this early period, nothing has appeared
beside " The God of the Poor," printed in " The Fortnightly,"
1868, and the song, " In the white-flowered hawthorn brake,"
which was introduced into the story of " Ogier the Dane " in " The
Earthly Paradise." According to the author's original plan, this
lyric was to have formed part of a long poem entitled " Scenes
from the Fall of Troy," of which, as projected, not more than
about a third was ever written. Among the other unpublished
MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray is an additional scene to
" Sir Peter Harpdon's End." Morris's old friend, Mr. Theodore
Watts-Dunton, in an obituary notice in " The Athenaeum," says,
" Morris could and did write humorous poetry, and then with-
held it from publication. For the splendid poem of ' Sir Peter
Harpdon's End,' printed in his first volume, Morris wrote a
humorous scene of the highest order, in which the hero said to
his faithful fellow-captive and follower, John Curzon, that, as
their deaths were so near, he felt a sudden interest in what had
never interested him before — the story of John's life before they
had been brought so close to each other. The heroic but dull-
witted soldier acceded to his master's request, and the incoherent,
muddle-headed way in which he gave his autobiography was full
of a dramatic and subtle humour. . . . This he refused to print,
in deference, I suspect, to a theory of poetic art."

And, moreover, Mr. Edmund Gosse writes in the " St. James's
Gazette," within a few days after Morris's death : " It is said that
vast sections of ' The Earthly Paradise' remain unpublished;
and I can vouch for it that more than twenty years ago I heard

the poet read, in his full, slightly monotonous voice, a long story of
' Amis and Amylion ' (I think these were the names), which has
never, to my knowledge, appeared in print. Rossetti used to
declare that there was a room, a 'blue closet,' in the Queen's-
square house, entirely crammed with Morris's poetry from floor
to ceiling. This was a humorous exaggeration of that wonder-
ful fluency which was a characteristic of Morris's genius."

But the fact of the existence of certain unpublished verse-
writings of Morris's, if not indeed known widely, was by no
means a secret confined to the circle of his personal friends.
Thus Mr. George Saintsbury, while avowing himself an absolute
stranger to William Morris, declares that he has " been told that
all the defaulting poems exist ; " and, in addition, a writer in
" The Sunday Times," on the day following the poet's death,
understands " that there is a large mass of unpublished material
which may be found more or less available for future issue."
This, no doubt, has reference to prose writings of Morris's as
well as poetry ; but Mr. Saintsbury is clearly alluding to those
poems which were advertised shortly beforehand but did not
eventually make their appearance in " The Earthly Paradise."

Further MS. poetry, owned by Mr. Fairfax Murray, com-
prises a prologue to " The Earthly Paradise " in four-line stanzas,
and a set of verses for the months of the year. All these portions
of the work were re-written and other passages substituted in
their room when the poem assumed its final state. From the
MS. it would appear that even the very name was changed, the
author having at one period an idea of calling it " The Fools'
Paradise."

Another unpublished fragment is extant, being part of a
poem " The Romance of the Wooers ; " and yet another work, in
this case completed, a version of one of the most beautiful
legends of Christian martyrology, viz., " The Story of Dorothea,"
dating from the time when Mr. Morris began to write again
after the space of seven silent years or more that ensued upon
the appearance of " The Defence of Guenevere." For so dis-
couraging to the young author was the reception accorded to his
first work that he had little enough heart to keep up his writing
continuously, but turned his hand to other and more grateful
occupations. His poems had, it is true, " found a few staunch
friends," but, for the rest, " were absolutely neglected by the
' reading public' " It is on record that only some 250 copies of
the first issue of the work were sold. Therefore in stating, as he
does in his " Reminiscences," that the publication of " The Defence
of Guenevere " was " what gave Morris his proper position,"

Bell Scott must be taken as referring to the judgment of their
own limited set. For he has to admit that, in spite of everything,
" the book was still-born. The considerable body of perfectly-
informed but unsympathetic professional critics are, strange to
say, so useless as directors of public taste that they have never
yet lifted the right man into his right place at once. After
repeated volumes had attracted public favour," but not till then,
a demand arose for Morris's earliest volume, and it had to be
reprinted, the stock of " the original impression having been
returned to the paper-mill."

"At one time," says a writer who is described by Max
Nordau as "an Anglo-German critic of repute," Dr. Francis
Hueffer, the author of the memoir prefixed to the Tauchnitz
selection from Morris's poems, " little was wanting to make
Morris follow his friend Burne-Jones' example, and leave the
pen for the brush. There is indeed still extant from his hand
an unfinished picture evincing a remarkable sense of colour."
The work referred to, which is a portrait study, depicts a lady in
the act of unfastening her girdle. It is a wonder that this
painting is yet intact, for its history, a somewhat curious one,
is as follows. Left at Ford Madox Brown's, it was conveyed
thence by his son, Oliver Madox Brown, and given to Rossetti,
who kept it by him with the view of repainting it, because he
was not satisfied that it did justice to the lady it portrayed.
However, he never carried out his intention, and, after his death,
the picture passed, with other property of the deceased painter,
into the hands of his brother, William Michael. In this gentle-
man's possession it might possibly have still remained, but that
he, being informed of its rightful ownership within a few months
of the death of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, took steps to have the
painting returned to Mr. Morris.

While staying temporarily in Oxford in the autumn of 1857
William Morris met the lady, who, two years later, became his
wife ; the marriage, appropriately enough in the case of so
eminent a scholar of English as the bridegroom, taking place in
the old Saxon-towered Church of St. Michael in the Corn. There
is no need to attempt any description of Mrs. Morris, since her
features have been immortalized in numerous drawings and
paintings from the hand of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Morris's engagement necessitated the providing a suitable
home, with the preparation of which he was now busily occupy-
ing himself. The house was not got ready in time for him to
take up his residence there at his marriage, so he had to wait
awhile, and moved in shortly after. In the meantime, a company

THE RED HOUSE. FROM THE GARDEN.

of ladies, friends of Mr. Morris, used to meet at the studio in Red
Lion Square, and, while he himself was doing decoration in oil
colour, they, under his superintendence, embroidered hangings,
&c, for the adornment of his future home. One of these pieces of
needlework was taken eventually to Kelmscott Manor and hung
there. It was powdered all over with a repeated pattern, a
design of Morris's of the quaintest description, — birds, for all the
world like those in a Noah's ark, trees as stiff-looking as the
clipped trees in a Dutch garden or a child's toy-box, and scrolls
inscribed with the motto " If I can." The whole of it was
executed in Berlin wool (the only medium available, except silk,
in those days before crewels and Tussore-silks had been intro-
duced), not of course in the fashion which then prevailed and, it
is to be feared, is not yet extinct, to wit, cross stitches on a canvas
foundation ; but with a very different manner of working, in long
and coarse stitches, as bold as effective. Another strip of em-
broidery executed for the same purpose, of a floral pattern, drawn
likewise by Mr. Morris, was given by him, after its removal from
its original position, to Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and is now at
his house at Rottingdean.

The site Morris chose for his new house was an orchard at
Upton, near Bexley Heath, amid "the rose-hung lanes of woody
Kent." The highways of the county were dear to the poet
through their having been trodden by the feet of Chaucer's

29 1

Canterbury pilgrims ; while its
historic memories were illus-
trious in his eyes, because it
was there had sprung up and
spread among carles and yeo-
men the popular movement
led by valorous John Ball.

Morris was not his own
architect. To build his house
he employed his friend Philip
Webb, who, however, in effect
was merely carrying out
Morris's directions, more par-
ticularly in the design of the
internal fixtures. The build-
ing was given the appropriate
name of "The Red House."
It is remarkable as being the
first example of the artistic
use revived of red brick for do-
mestic purposes. Picturesque
and irregular of construction,
it had an architectural char-
the red house. the well, acter that distinguished it

among its contemporaries of the ugly, square-box order which at
that date seemed to be accepted almost universally. It was, for
its time, a bold innovation, which cannot be said to have been
without extraordinary results for good. Nay, as an experiment
on the part of a man who had both the hopefulness and the
dauntless will necessary to enable him to make a stand against
the tyranny of custom, to William Morris is owing the credit
of having initiated, with his Red House, a new era in house-
building.

Morris set forth his views on the subject of architecture in a
paper he contributed to " The Fortnightly Review " in May, 1888.
" The revival of the art of architecture in Great Britain," he says,
" may be said to have been a natural consequence of the rise of
the romantic school in literature, although it lagged some way
behind it. . . . Up to a period long after the death of Shelley and
Keats and Scott, architecture could do nothing but produce on
the one hand pedantic imitations of classical architecture of the
most revolting ugliness, and ridiculous travesties of Gothic build-
ings, not quite so ugly, but meaner and sillier ; and on the other
hand, the utilitarian brick-box with a slate lid which the Anglo-

Saxon generally in modern
times considers as a good
sensible house with no non-
sense about it." But, he
continues further on, " Were
the rows of square brown
brick boxes which Keats and
Shelley had to look on, or
the stuccoed villa which en-
shrined Tennyson's genius,
to be the perpetual con-
comitants of such masters
of verbal beauty ; was no
beauty but the beauty of
words to be produced by
man in our times ; was the
intelligence of the age to be
for ever so preposterously
lop-sided ? We could see no
reason for it and accordingly
our hope was strong ; for
though we had learned some-
thing of the art and history
of the Middle Ages we had
not learned enough. . . . Any-
how, this period of fresh hope
and partial insight produced many interesting buildings and
other works of art, and afforded a pleasant time indeed to the
hopeful but very small minority engaged in it, in spite of all
vexations and disappointments." How that hope was dissipated
he goes on to show : " At last one man, who had done more than
any one else to make this hopeful time possible, drew a line
sternly through these hopes founded on imperfect knowledge.
This man was John Ruskin. By a marvellous inspiration of
genius (I can call it nothing else) he attained at one leap to a
true conception of mediaeval art, which years of minute study
had not gained for others. In his chapter in ' The Stones of
Venice,' entitled ' On the Nature of Gothic and the Function
of the Workman therein,' he showed us the gulf which lay
between us and the Middle Ages. From that time all was
changed. ... I do not say that the change in the Gothic re-
vivalists produced by this discovery was sudden, but it was
effective. It has gradually sunk deep into the intelligence of the
art and literature of to-day."

THE RED HOUSE.

STAIRCASE.

The above passages were
written, it is important to note,
some thirty-five years after the
appearance of " The Stones of
Venice." In the interval Morris
had had time to recover from the
shock of disillusionment. It had
become evident to him that the
splendid monuments of architec-
ture of the Middle Ages, as well
as all the minor arts, had been
produced under, and owed their
very existence to, circumstances
totally different from our own — ■
to a set of traditions and a con-
currence of forces, such that, if
one or other of them could con-
ceivably be resuscitated, would
yet assuredly never again be
found together in the same
proportions and the same com-
binations as of old. However
unwelcome the truth, the logic
of facts and of history was not to
the red house, small panel of be gainsaid save bv " those who

EARLY MORRIS GLASS (I2j in. x 7* in.) ..*? ,, , ... . „ at>

in window of hall corridor. wilfully shut their eyes." To
abandon oneself, nevertheless, to unprofitable bewailings for a
vanished past that could not be recalled were sheer cowardice,
as Morris perceived. So, once convinced that the causes of the
dearth of sound art amongst us lay deeper than he had at first
suspected, viz., in the very conditions of our modern social and
industrial system, he determined to think the matter out and to
devise, if it might be, a remedy for existing evils. Hence he
learned to look for the fulfilment of his aspirations in the ideal of
a future, wherein a reconstructed society should even surpass
anything hitherto achieved in the most glorious of days bygone.
" The hope of our ignorance has passed away," he wrote, " but it
has given place to the hope born of fresh knowledge." Experts
indeed were slow to grasp the full significance of the teaching of
Ruskin, as Morris did not fail to record. And he himself, young
and ardent as he was at the time, would naturally be as loth as
any among them to accept conclusions so tremendous. Had the
consequent lesson come home to him, and had his reluctance
given way earlier than it did, it is scarcely too much to assert

that the Red House might not
have existed at all. At any rate,
Morris built that once only, but
never afterwards.

The date of the Red House
is 1859, as the vane on the top of
the roof shows. " The only thing
you saw from a distance," says
Bell Scott in his " Reminis-
cences," "■was an immense red-
tiled, steep and high roof; and
the only room I remember was
the dining-room or hall, which
seemed to occupy the whole area
of the mansion. It had a fixed
settle all round the walls, a
curious music-gallery entered by
a stair outside the room, break-
ing out high upon the gable, and
no furniture but a long table of
oak reaching nearly from end to
end. This vast, empty hall was
painted coarsely in bands of wild

foliage over both wall and ceil-
:„„ ,„t,:„i, „..„,, «^«« *;™i,„« „„^ the red house, small panel of
ing, which was open-timber and early morris glass (124 in. x 74 in.)
lofty." (There are some obvious IN window of hall corridor.
mistakes here. Bell Scott, though right enough in his impres-
sion of the general effect of the furnishing and so on, is decidedly
wrong in detail. In fact, he confounds the features of two
separate rooms, and would lead one to suppose, from the way he
speaks of them, that all were to be found together in one apart-
ment.) "The adornment," he continues, "had a novel, not to
say striking, character. . . . Morris did whatever seemed good to
him unhesitatingly, and it has been very good."

The following account is based on notes supplied by one who
used to know the house in the old days. " The first sight of the
Red House in 1863," says this writer, "gave me an astonished
pleasure. The deep red colour, the great sloping, tiled roofs ;
the small-paned windows ; the low, wide porch and massive
door ; the surrounding garden divided into many squares, hedged
by sweetbriar or wild rose, each enclosure with its own parti-
cular show of flowers ; on this side a green alley with a bowling
green, on that orchard walks amid gnarled old fruit-trees ; — all
struck me as vividly picturesque and uniquely original." In the

33 k

grass-plot at the back of
the house is a covered well,
with a quaint conical roof.
" Upon entering the porch,
the hall appeared to one
accustomed to the narrow,
straight ugliness of the
usual middle-class dwell-
ing of those days as being
grand and severely simple.
A solid oak table with
trestle-like legs stood in
the middle of the red-tiled
floor, while a fireplace
gave a hospitable look to
the hall place." To the
left, close to the foot of
the stairs, is a wooden
partition, panelled with
leaded panes of plain glass
of antique quality. This
screen divides the main

TH* RED HOUSE hal1 fr ° m S leSSel * h&11 OT

buffet in the dining-room, corridor, which leads, at
right angles, into the garden and is lighted by windows of glass
quarries decorated with various kinds of birds and other devices.
In the centre of two of these windows are single figure panels ;
the one representing Love, in a rich red tunic, flames of fire at
his back, and a stream of water traversing the flowery sward at
his feet ; the other, Fate, robed to the feet in green, with a wheel
of fortune in her hand.

Immediately to the right as one enters the hall is a wooden
structure, the lower part projecting to form a bench seat ; the
upper part being a press or cupboard, with unfinished colour
decorations. On the outside of the two doors of it are figure
compositions, sketched in, and begun in oils, but left in-
complete : while inside are some interesting experiments in
diapering in black on a gold ground, by Mr. Morris's hand.
Beyond this press is "the door of the dining room, the living
room in fact. This is a long room and lies parallel to the hall.
The fireplace stands out in the middle of the wall facing the
entrance." It is of brick and, like the rest of the fireplaces in. the
house, is not provided with a mantelshelf, the chimney-breast of
brick going straight up to within a short distance of the ceiling,

where it finishes off with a
coved top. Near the door, and
occupying the greater part of
the wall space to the left as
one enters the room, a promi-
nent feature " was a wide
dresser which reached to the
ceiling and was ornamented
richly with painted decoration.
By the fireplace stood a mov-
able settle, with high back, the
panels of it filled with leather,
gilt and coloured. The chairs
were plain black, with rush
seats." Commonly accepted
as is the use of this simple
and picturesque form of chair
at the present day, its revival
is due to Mr. Morris's example.
"The walls were tinted with
pale distemper, and the ceiling
ornamented by hand in yellow
on white." The manner in
which the ceiling decoration
is carried out in this room and
other parts of the house is
most ingenious and effective.
The pattern, a conventional
repeat of the simplest form,
was pricked upon the plaster,
while yet moist and unhard-
ened, the spaces between the
pricked outlines being after-
wards filled in with a flat tint _
of distemper colour, bright, but THE RED house.
not so strongly pronounced as landing at the head of the stairs.
to be staring, or in any degree disagreeable.

Opposite to the front door, beneath an open pyramidal sort of
lantern roof, rises the wide oaken staircase, with Gothic newel-
posts at the angles; the underneath part of it not boxed in, as
the ordinary custom is to conceal the construction, but left open
and showing the form of the steps from below. " Upstairs — only
one floor — above the dining room is the drawing room, with a
decorated, open roof." The fireplace of brick with an open

hearth, was provided with a brick hood, which sloped narrowing
to the roof. " To the left of the fireplace was a dais alcove with
windows and window-seats. But the chief means of lighting
was a large window at the end of the room furthest from the
door. Facing the window was the most important feature of the
room, viz., a great bookcase or cabinet — one scarcely knows
how to describe it correctly. This painted cabinet, of which the
effect was gorgeous, nearly filled the end of the room, while at
one side was a wooden ladder stair-way by which one could
mount to the upper part of it and find room to sit or move about
on the top, as on a balcony. From this stage another short
ladder led into a storage-loft in the roof beyond."

" The walls of the principal bedroom were hung with em-
broidered serge. Here also stood a splendid wardrobe," decorated
all over with gilding and colour, a wedding present painted and
given by Burne-Jones. Morris himself executed part of the
decoration on the inner folds of the doors. The subject which
covers the front of this wardrobe is " The Prioress's Tale " from
Chaucer ; perhaps to the modern reader the most familiar of all
the " Canterbury Tales," through Wordsworth's popularized
version of it. The legend is not to be confounded with that of
Little St. Hugh of Lincoln, though there are certain points in
common. The various scenes of the story are represented, as
was customary with mediaeval artists, all in the same picture,
the principal subject being on a larger scale than the rest and
occupying the foremost place in the composition. It depicts the
Blessed Virgin stooping over the pit which contains the body of
the murdered boy, and placing on his tongue a grain which
should enable him in death to continue singing " Alma Redemp-
toris Mater " to her praise.

Towards the end of the year i860 Burne-Jones, while on a
visit at the Red House, commenced a series of paintings in
tempera upon the end wall of the large drawing-room there ;
Morris also himself contributing somewhat to the decorative
work, of which, however, the more important share was neces-
sarily that undertaken by Burne-Jones. The subject was the
mediaeval story of Sir Degravaunt, another of those romances
which, like " Sidonia the Sorceress," had begun to exercise a
powerful charm upon both the painter and his host. The charm,
indeed, survived to the end, as was testified by the fact that a
Kelmscott Press edition of " Sire Degravaunt," with a wood-cut
frontispiece designed by Burne-Jones, had for some time past
been in preparation, although unhappily Mr. Morris did not live
to see it issued, dying as he did before it was ready. Only three

THE RED
HOUSE, UPTON.
WALL-PAINTINGS
BY SIR E. EURNE-
JONES, BT. THE
ROMANCE OF SIR
DEGRAVAUNT.

panels, and these forming the last out of the set, were ever painted
at the Red House. In one of them Burne-Jones introduced the
portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Morris, seated side by side, in robes of
state and crowned with coronets, in the characters of Sir Degra-
vaunt and his bride in the scene of the wedding banquet. These
paintings are not in a good position for light, but they are in good
hands and well cared for, having been covered with glass to
insure their preservation.

Near about the same time, i.e., the latter part of i860, in a
letter to Bell Scott, Rossetti writes to say that his wife has " gone
for a few days to stay with the Morrises at their Red House at
Upton, and I am to join her there to-morrow, but shall probably
return before her, as I am full of things to do, and could not go
there at all, but that I have a panel to paint there." The work
was in oils, and it is said that one week sufficed for its execution.
The subject of one of Rossetti's compositions for the Red House
was the Garden of Eden. He also painted the first meeting and
the last meeting of Dante and Beatrice ; in the middle, between
the two scenes, being an allegorical figure of Love, holding a
dial-plate in his hands. These panels were eventually removed
when Morris parted with the Red House, and were framed in the
form of a diptych. Morris did not occupy the Red House above
six years. He gave it up at the end of that space and came back
to live in London in 1865.

CHAPTER FIVE. OF THE FIRM OF
MORRIS AND CO., DECORATORS.

3 T was remarked by Mr. William
Michael Rossetti in the work contain-
ing his brother's life and letters that a
" detailed history of the firm of Morris,
Marshall and Faulkner, or Morris and
Co., would by this time" (1895) "be
an interesting thing," but that such a
record had " not yet been written."
Nor maybe among those that now
survive, except to Sir Edward Burne-
Jones and Mr. Philip Webb, who, if
any, should be in possession of the necessary particulars, must it
be looked to furnish a full account ; especially of facts and
incidents relating to the earlier days, when the firm was more of
the nature of an informal association of friends working together
than a business partnership in the ordinary sense of the term.

To whom belongs the credit of having been the first to conceive
the idea of the artistic venture that has developed since into the
business of Messrs. Morris and Co., may not now perhaps be
determined with absolute certainty. The initiation of the project
has been attributed at various times to various members of the
original firm ; but the balance seems rather to incline in favour of
Ford Madox Brown as one of the patriarchs of the revival.
However, one thing at any rate is beyond doubt, that the whole
undertaking owes its success to the patience and energy, to the
enthusiasm, the originality, in a word, to the genius of William
Morris, whose name it bears.

It has been shown how the furnishing of his own house at
Bexley Heath had been made by Morris the occasion for exercis-
ing his ingenuity in embroidery design, in ceiling and mural
decoration, and in several other ways, and generally of acquiring
practical experience in different branches of domestic art. But
what he began then by doing on a small scale, was destined to
engage him from that time forward for the remainder of his life.

There is but slight necessity to enumerate the horrors proper
to the early Victorian period — the Berlin woolwork and the bead
mats ; the crochet antimacassars upon horsehair sofas ; the wax
flowers under glass shades ; the monstrosities in stamped brass
and gilded stucco ; chairs, tables, and other furniture hideous
with veneer and curly distortions ; the would-be naturalistic
vegetable-patterned carpets with false shadows and misplaced

perspective ; and all the despicable legion of mean shams and
vulgarities which have been exposed and held up to ridicule times
without number. The memory of them, indissolubly associated
with the geranium and the crinoline, is only too painfully vivid to
the minds of many of us. It is sufficient to say that love nor
money could procure beautiful objects of contemporary manu-
facture for any purpose of household furnishing or adornment
when William Morris undertook the Herculean and seemingly
hopeless task of decorative reform, and wrought and brought
deliverance from the thraldom of the ugly, which oppressed all
the so-called arts of this country.

Two years and more elapsed from the time the proposition
was first mooted ; and during that interval not a few preliminary
meetings were held, not a few times merely was the scheme dis-
cussed, before anything like a definite working plan was deter-
mined on. At one time two or three of those who originally
constituted themselves members of the firm would assemble to
discuss their plans at Madox Brown's house at 13, Fortess
Terrace, (now Junction Road,) Kentish Town ; at another time
at Burne-Jones's rooms in Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square ;
at another time again at Morris's own studio in Red Lion
Square. Morris is described by one, who met him first on one
such occasion, as keenly alert and full of energy and move-
ment, — altogether a most striking personality. There were other
meetings, or, as they used to be called, " gatherings of the clans,"
at Madox Brown's house, for instance when himself took the
chair and a larger number were present. Several ladies also
who were interested as taking part in the work were present on
certain occasions. At one of the general meetings, which took
place about the middle of the year 1861, it was announced that
rooms, for business premises, had been taken at No. 8, on the
north side of Red Lion Square, W.C. " With a view," writes Mr.
Ford Madox Hueffer, in his record of the life and works of Ford
Madox Brown, " of starting a sort of co-operative agency for
supplying artistic furniture and surroundings primarily to them-
selves, but also to the general public, each of those present," it
was agreed, " should lay down a stipulated sum. . . . The rules
of incorporation were briefly : that each member should con-
tribute designs for the various articles of use and ornament for
which demand arose, and should be paid for his work in the
usual course of events, before the profits, if any, were shared."
Moreover, at the same time it was mentioned that Mr. Bodley,
the architect, had promised to commit the execution of certain
orders for stained glass and other decorations to the firm,

provided they were organized so as to be able to undertake them.
Proposals as to ways and means having thus already been
formulated, the business, under the style of Messrs. Morris,
Marshall, Faulkner and Co., was now definitely set on foot. A
strangely assorted group were they who comprised the original
members of the firm. Ford Madox Brown, Dante Gabriel
Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and Arthur Hughes, painters, the
last of whom shortly withdrew ; Philip Webb, architect ; Peter
Paul Marshall, district surveyor at Tottenham and engineer ; and
Charles Joseph Faulkner, an Oxford don— these were Morris's
partners in the firm. He himself was to undertake the business
management and general direction of the affair. His father,
before him, had been a man of business, and William Morris had
inherited presumably some measure of his father's capacity.
" Mr. Morris," says Mr. W. M. Rossetti, " came much the fore-
most, not only by being constantly on the spot, to work, direct
and to transact, but also by his abnormal and varied aptitude at
all kinds of practical processes." Beside the partners, of whom
all, as it has been stated above, were to give active assistance
according to their ability, the staff at the outset was of the
smallest. There was Mr. George F. Campfield, subsequently
appointed foreman, whom Madox Brown and Burne-Jones had
met some two years previously among the students in Ruskin's
class at the Working Men's College in Great Ormond Street ;
and there was also a man engaged to do the rough work of
packing and so on. He, by the way, is the same who figures as
one of the labourers in Madox Brown's " Work " at the Corpora-
tion Art Gallery at Manchester. As the business of the firm
expanded, others were engaged, as required, through the means
of advertisements in a Clerkenwell local paper, in " The
Builder," &c. But the scheme indicated in the circular, as below,
was so unusual from its utter disregard of established conven-
tions, and had caused so much dismay among trade circles, that
men on the look-out for employment were for a long time afraid
to come forward in response, being wary of identifying them-
selves with an undertaking on the face of it so hazardous, and
such that obviously was foredoomed to failure. The firm, on
their part, were anxious to exclude the merely commercial
element, and required of all who joined in their work fair
evidence, at least, of artistic appreciation beyond the ordinary
standard.

The first step the firm took to make their existence known to
the public was to send forth a circular stating their aims. The
purport of this document was that "a company of historical

artists had banded themselves together to execute work in a
thoroughly artistic and inexpensive manner ; and that they had
determined to devote their spare time to designing for all kinds
of manufactures of an artistic nature." In our days — so far have
conditions been modified and views progressed — a notice of this
sort would excite but little comment. Yet in the period when
the decorative arts, as then practised, were understood to be a
mere polite accomplishment for young ladies who had no better
occupation to keep them amused ; and when also the line of
demarcation between the gentleman, the man, that is, who did
nothing to earn his bread, and the business man was drawn with
uncompromising sharpness, it was not to be wondered at if the
announcement came with the provocation and force of a challenge,
and dumbfounded those who read it at the audacity of the venture.
The amount of prejudice it aroused would scarcely be believed at
the present time. Professionals felt themselves aggrieved at the
intrusion, as they regarded it, of a body of men whose training
had not been strictly commercial into the close preserves of their
own peculiar domain ; and, had it been possible to form a ring
and exclude Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. from
the market, the thing would infallibly have been done. But if
from without there was much bad blood to encounter and live
down, the enthusiasm that reigned among themselves and inspired
the courageous little band of pioneers — for they were indeed no
less than that — was such, that it is difficult to form any con-
ception of it at this distance of time. Pioneers ! Nay, Morris and
his fellow-workers must have felt themselves to be something
far exceeding that ; — no mere Columbus was Morris, guiding the
helm of his craft to the discovery and exploitation of some
already existing land : — no, but since he and they that followed
his leadership were actually constructing by their own efforts a
new and unknown territory which before had had no being, theirs
was rather the divine joy of creating, a joy that is given to none
but to an artist, himself a creator, to appreciate. " Ah ! but those
were grand times," remarked one who has worked with the firm
from the very commencement. Furthermore, a thing rarer then
than nowadays, there was an all but unlimited freedom of cri-
ticism admitted on both sides, between employers and employed,
a freedom that virtually amounted to equality of condition between
them.

The approaching International Exhibition in London, 1862,
and the prospect of being represented worthily there, gave the
newly-founded firm a definite motive for rallying together and,
if it were possible, an extra incentive to strenuous exertion. To

41 M

meet the pressure of work thereby entailed, the staff of Messrs.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. was increased towards the
end of 1861 ; the new-comers being Messrs. Albert and Harry
Goodwin and Weigand. The latter assisted Rossetti in the
decoration of Mr. Seddon's cabinet, and was taken on ultimately
as a regular worker in the firm. Finding themselves also in need
of additional help in preparing the glass in hand for exhibition,
the firm advertised in " The Builder " of gth November, 1861, for
" a first-rate fret glazier wanted." This led to the engaging of
Mr. Charles Holloway, who has since become a painter.

Practically no particulars of the exhibits of Messrs. Morris,
Marshall, Faulkner and Co. are to be gathered from the Official
Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition of 1862, printed for her
Majesty's Commissioners. It contains but two meagre entries of
objects shown by the firm, viz., "Exhibit No. 5783: Decorated
furniture, tapestries, &c," and " Exhibit No. 6734 : Stained glass
windows." The report of the juries and list of awards witnesses
that a medal (United Kingdom) was bestowed on the firm for
their 'work in either class. In the case of the stained glass the
award was given " for artistic qualities of colour and design,"
and in the case of their contributions to the class for furniture
and upholstery, paper-hangings, &c, the record runs : " Messrs.
Morris and Co. have exhibited several pieces of furniture,
tapestries, &c, in the style of the Middle Ages. The general
forms of the furniture, the arrangement of the tapestry, and the
character of the details are satisfactory to the archaeologist from
the exactness of the imitation, at the same time that the general
effect is excellent."

This recognition, scanty and inadequate as it was, from the
authorities was not allowed to pass unchallenged. The hostility
displayed in certain quarters was of the most determined
character. Opponents of the firm even went the length of
starting a petition to get the work disqualified, on the ground
that it was other than it professed to be. In particular they
maintained, and that with a dogged obstinacy which did little
credit to their own acquaintance with technique, that Morris,
Marshall, Faulkner and Co.'s stained glass was not new work or
new material at all, but in reality old glass touched up for the
occasion — that it was, in plain language, a fraud. But misunder-
standings on the part of brother-artists and more bitter jealousy
on the part of the trade were of little avail. The awards of the
official judges were upheld. And perhaps, after all, the animosity
of rivals afforded really testimony the strongest, just because it
was involuntary, to the very remarkable qualities of the work

which the firm, during so brief a period of existence, had
succeeded in producing. At least one expert, Mr. Clayton, of the
firm of Clayton and Bell, and formerly a fellow-student with
Rossetti at the Royal Academy Schools, when he came to
adjudicate, pronounced the work of Messrs. Morris and Co. to be
the finest of its kind in the Exhibition.

Before the close of the Exhibition orders were received
through Mr. Bodley, then a generous friend and supporter of the
firm, for glass for St. Michael's, Brighton, and also for another
new church, built in 1862, viz., All Saints', Selsley, a fresh district
formed out of the parish of King Stanley in Gloucestershire.
The design for the latter church comprised some square quarries
with fine circular ornament and delicate yellow stain, in the
execution of which quarries Morris personally bore a share. To
help in this work an ordinary glazier was engaged to cut and
glaze the glass. Another order that followed shortly after was
for glass for Bradford, Yorkshire.

During their first year Mr. J. P. Seddon, the architect, had
commissioned Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. to
decorate a cabinet made from his own design. This was one of
the earliest works undertaken by the firm, and was included
among the furniture shown at the Exhibition of 1862. It is still
in Mr. Seddon's possession. "The subjects proposed for the
decoration of this cabinet," says a note by the editor of "The
Century Guild Hobby Horse," October, 1888, " being Architecture,
Painting, Sculpture and Music, Mr. Ford Madox Brown suggested
a series of imaginary incidents in the ' Honeymoon ' of King
Rene by which to express them, that king having been skilled in
all these arts ; Mr. Madox Brown himself designing the ' Archi-
tecture,' while the other subjects were invented by Dante
Gabriel Rossetti and Mr. Burne-Jones. . . . The cabinet ... is
Gothic in character, and made of oak, polished and inlaid with
woods of various colours ; the hinges being of metal, painted.
The face of the lower portion, which rests immediately upon the
ground and forms the greater bulk of the cabinet, contains four
panelled doors, the central two of which project slightly beyond
those which are at either end. On the panel of the door to the
extreme left is painted in oils the design significant of Architec-
ture. . . . Upon the gold background is a pattern of lines and dots,
and above the figures is set the kind of canopy represented in
mediaeval manuscripts," a trefoiled arch, the spandrils of which
contain, within circles, shields with the arms of King Rene, &c.
" This background and canopy is repeated in the three other
panels. The dress of the king is of a purplish red, lined with

blue, his shoes of scarlet ; while the white dress of the queen is
edged with dark fur, and embroidered with red and blue flowers
done in outline. The two panels of the projecting central portion
of the cabinet were painted by Mr. Burne-Jones. In the first of
these, the king is shown drawing the figure of a woman, as his
queen stands over him ; in the third panel he is at work carving
a statue, while the attitude of the queen would seem to express
astonishment at his art. The remaining panel on the right,
representing 'Music,' was designed by Rossetti. Here the queen
is seated, playing at a kind of regal, or chamber organ, the bellows
of which are blown by King Rene. She is in a dress of green ;
and, as she is playing, a cloak of fur, lined with orange, falls from
her shoulders, as the king bends over the instrument to kiss her.
In the upper portion of the cabinet are four little square panels,
painted with the half-lengths of girls variously engaged : one of
them is at a frame, embroidering ; another, wearing a wimple,
weaves a chequered cloth." Part of the decoration also was
done by Mr. Val Prinsep. Yet another cabinet, produced later,
should be mentioned ; a high one, for the design and execution of
which the firm was responsible; the subject of the panel decora-
tion, " Green Summer," being the work of Burne-Jones.

But of Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co.'s exhibits
at the Exhibition of 1862 neither the least interesting nor the least
beautiful was a piece of furniture, now in private ownership, a
cabinet, raised on a stand and furnished with doors, both the
designing and the painting of the four panels being the work of
William Morris's own hand. His original pen-and-ink studies
belong to Mr. Fairfax Murray. The subject is the legend of St.
George, the series beginning with the royal proclamation and
surrender of the victim to the dragon, and ending with the
triumphal return of St. George with the rescued maiden ; it does
not, however, include the oft-repeated subject of the combat with
the dragon. While Morris was engaged upon this work at Red
Lion Square, he received a visit from the master of his old school
at Walthamstow, Mr. Guy, who was not only delighted but
astonished at the work offered for the inspection of himself and the
friends who accompanied him ; a fact which goes to prove what
has already been stated, viz., that there was no tradition of the
extraordinary artistic powers Morris developed when he grew up
having been manifested or even suspected in him in boyhood.

If Morris's position at the head of affairs at Messrs. Morris,
Marshall, Faulkner and Co.'s had hitherto not been appreciated,
the mark that, owing to his guiding genius, the firm made at the
Exhibition left no doubt as to his importance. At a social gather-

ing at the Red House, to which, after the close of the Exhibition,
Morris invited all the members of the firm, partners and staff in
a body, he seemed instinctively to be acknowledged with one
accord as occupying the leading place. The entire direction
thenceforward was virtually in his hands, and he applied himself
unremittingly to the task. When, in 1865, the firm removed from
their original quarters to No. 26, Queen Square, Bloomsbury, Mr.
Morris left Upton and took up his residence under the same roof.
The house being a large one, the accommodation was sufficient,
and, by living thus on the spot, he was enabled to devote still
more of his time to superintending the industries carried on by
the firm. But although he was, for all intents and purposes, in
command of the whole business, he did not become the formal
and official head until 1874. In the summer of that year, the
original partnership was dissolved, Mr. Theodore Watts taking
an active part in the arrangement of the affair. Mr. Morris then
bought out the other partners and himself remained as sole repre-
sentative of the Company, styled thenceforward simply Morris
and Co. A fresh notice was issued to announce the change in
the firm and to explain that the character of its work would
remain unchanged, Burne-Jones continuing as before to furnish
cartoons for stained glass. But one must not anticipate. Towards
the beginning of 1865 Mr. Warrington Taylor came into the
business, in the capacity of acting manager under Mr. Morris,
and was of great service to the firm, while he lived ; for, un-
happily, in a few years' time he was carried off by consumption.
He was succeeded by Mr. George Wardle, who had formerly
acted as his assistant, and who remained in conduct of affairs
from the death of Mr. Taylor for a considerable time — in fact,
until within about six or seven years ago, when he resigned and
went abroad. The names of some others who have, in the past,
been workers in or on behalf of the firm may be mentioned :
Messrs. Fairfax Murray, Charles Napier Hemy, James Egan,
Fletcher, and the Misses Faulkner.

With reference to the remarks in the official report of the
Exhibition of 1862, it should be observed that in the early days of
Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co., their productions,
though far from being merely imitative, presented a greater
degree of resemblance to mediaeval work than they came to have
in later times, when the distinctly characteristic style of Morris
had matured. Thus, in the powderings and diaperings of
draperies, backgrounds, &c, for stained glass, the firm, about the
middle of the sixties, made some use of a collection of ancient
examples of decorations copied from different churches in Norfolk

45 n

and Suffolk. These patterns and details of ornaments from paint-
ings on walls and roofs, mouldings and carved woodwork, &c.,
including a series of figures of the angelic hierarchy from the
rood-screen of St. Michael's Church, Barton Turf, Norfolk (date
c. 1430), and some figures of saints, also of the fifteenth century,
from Cawston Church in the same county, were selected and
drawn by Mr. G. Wardle. Executed in pencil, and in many
instances coloured, with a rare mastery of draughtsmanship,
upon tracing paper, mounted on cards and enclosed in three
portfolios, this valuable set of designs was acquired in the years
1866 and 1867 for the National Art Library at the South Kensing-
ton Museum.

When first the firm started to execute stained glass, Mr.
Morris himself had no practical experience of the technicalities of
the art. Madox Brown had previously made but one design for
the purpose, viz., the Transfiguration, for Messrs. Powell and
Sons; while Burne-Jones, it is true, had already projected a
course of instructions on the subject at the Working Men's
College in Great Ormond Street, and had even designed a small
quantity of glass, e.g., for Waltham Abbey Church, as well as the
St. Frideswide window in the Latin Chapel at Christ Church. It
fell, however, to the lot of neither of these, but to another member
of the firm, Mr. Webb, to test the proficiency of their foreman, Mr.
Campfield, who, having been employed for a short time by a firm
of stained glass manufacturers, was entrusted with the getting
together the necessary plant and with the arrangement of the
working details at the commencement. A small kiln for firing
the glass was constructed on the premises at Red Lion Square,
and they set to work. Of course Mr. Morris was not content to
stand by and watch other people engaged in a craft in which
himself had no part. So he took up the work, and practised paint-
ing glass quarries, with the rest. It came to be the custom for
the choice of the particular diapers and borders for draperies, &c,
to be left to the artist who actually executed the glass-painting,
but it was reserved for Morris to determine the scheme of colour-
ing in each case. And when also it is remembered that Burne-
Jones was not in the habit of inserting the lead-lines in his
cartoons, and that Madox Brown did so only occasionally, one
can understand how much remained over and above for Morris
and his assistants to do to adapt the designers' drawings in mono-
chrome for practical working purposes.

The stained glass shown by the firm at the Exhibition con-
sisted of some few pieces for domestic purposes, ornamental
quarries, and a set of seven panels, designed by Rossetti, to illus-

ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE.
Painted Glass in St. Martin's, Scarborough;
designed by D. G. Rossetti.

trate the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen in the Vineyard.
This series was erected eventually in the east window of St.
Martin's on the Hill, Scarborough, through the recommendation
of Mr. G. F. Bodley, who built the church, and entrusted a con-
siderable part of the internal decoration to Messrs. Morris,
Marshall, Faulkner and Co. The pulpit was decorated by the
firm, two panels in it being painted by Rossetti himself. The
mural painting above the altar was also, in its original state, the
work of the firm, but having fallen into a ruinous condition, it has
since been completely repainted by local painters. " The first
impression," says M. Olivier Georges Destree, a Belgian writer,
in " The Savoy " of October, 1896, " given by the window of the
Parable of the Vineyard, which lights the choir, is an impression
of colour, dazzling and magnificent, velvety and harmonious,
resembling the Flemish stained glass windows decorating the
Gothic cathedrals. From the point of view of stained glass, this
is the one I consider to be the most perfect. It has all the quali-
ties which . . . were considered essential by Madox Brown, . . .
and all these qualities are united in a high degree of perfection.
In fact, when we approach this window and examine it in detail,
we perceive that it is no less remarkable for its ingenious and
original composition than for the sensation of opulent colour
which it at first gave us. . . . Sumptuous in colour, ingenious in
composition, the window of the Parable appears to be of a design
more entirely and peculiarly Rossetti's than that of Adam and
Eve, of which certain details seem to show the influence of
Madox Brown." The subject of the " most beautiful and im-
pressive " lancets, which are situated at the west end of the
church, should be described more correctly as Adam and Eve in
Paradise before the Fall. The date of them is 1862. " One is
struck by the ingenious arrangement of the branches and leaves
by which Rossetti veils the nudity of the bodies of Adam and Eve,
for the rosy colours of the flesh look brighter in the violent con-
trast with the uniform blue of the sky seen behind them ; and
these ingenious contrasts give to these two nude bodies a vivid-
ness of life which is rendered by no other stained glass window
which I have ever seen. These resplendent bodies of Adam and
Eve illuminate the church, and seem to give it some of their own
life. The composition is no less original and new in its details
than in the beauty of its colouring. Adam is depicted standing,
picturesquely leaning on a branch of a tree with large sombre
leaves, a fig-tree I think ; with the tip of his foot he amuses him-
self by tickling a small bear curled up at his feet ; the blue sky is
seen behind him, and sunflowers, flowering at the end of their

long stems, expand at his right hand ; in the branches of the tree
above him a curious and familiar squirrel watches him. Standing
also, Eve has stopped in the middle of a field richly studded with
small flowers and red poppies ; of the same fairness as the hair
and beard of Adam, her unbound hair falls in an opulent stream
over her shoulders. In her arms she holds, tenderly pressed to
her bosom, a white dove, and in the sombre tree above, his eyes
fixed and shining, an owl surveys her. The predominant colours
of this admirable window are flesh colour, dark green and light
gold." Mr. William Sharp, describing the same windows,
says, " A strict harmony of colour is maintained between the
rich brown of the bear and squirrel, the varying green of the
trees and foliage, the light golden hair and the flesh tints of
Adam, the yellow sunflower, &c. ; the same being observed in
the Eve picture, where also one or two red flowers give a deeper
contrast." On the ground, close behind Eve, crouch two tawny-
brown rabbits. " Above the windows of Adam and Eve," says M.
Destree, " the Annunciation, by Burne-Jones, which decorates
the large rose-window, and the ' Angels playing musical instru-
ments ' of the nine smaller roses which surround it, form
with the windows of Rossetti a remarkable and charming con-
trast. . . . White, azure blue and ruby are the colours principally
and almost exclusively used " in this group of ten openings which
form the rose. There is altogether an abundance of Morris glass
in St. Martin's, including, on the north side, figures of characters
of the Old Testament, and, on the south, of saints of the Christian
dispensation.

Rossetti's designs for stained glass, however, were not very
numerous. He produced a specially fine cartoon, which was
executed by the firm, the subject being Christ in majesty, sur-
rounded by angels ; but " his last composition of this class,"
writes Mr. William Sharp, was a memorial to his aunt, Miss M.
M. Polidori, who died in 1867. It was erected in Christ Church,
Albany Street, Regent's Park, and is the second window from the
bottom of the nave on the right as one faces altarwards, " the
colouring throughout being rich and harmonious." The subject is
the Sermon on the Mount. It is divided into three compartments,
each panel being surrounded by small square panes of white
glass, ornamented uniformly with a many-petalled rose, painted
with great delicacy in sepia, with yellow stain introduced here
and there to heighten the effect of leaves and stalks.

In the north transept of St. Giles's Church, Camberwell, is a
two-light window, erected in December, 1864. An early example
it is of unusual interest, not only because of the introduction of

SS. PAUL AND JOHN BAPTIST.

Painted Glass in St. Giles's Church, Camberwell.

The figure of St. Paul designed by William Morris.

■ ■ -

canopies, a feature not too common in the glass of the firm, but
also because, what is more important, the figure on the left was
designed by Mr. Morris himself. It represents St. Paul, clothed
in a blue robe, with white cloak, lined with green ; the diapered
background being of rich red glass. The figure of St. John
Baptist on the right, against a blue background, diapered in
similar manner, has a red-lined white cloak over his camel-hair
vest. The small groups below represent severally St. Paul
preaching and St. John baptizing. Besides ornamental quarries,
of which he produced a great variety, Mr. Morris's own designs
for stained glass were but few. One of his larger cartoons for
this purpose is in the collection of Mr. Fairfax Murray. The
subject is St. Mary Magdalene, the pattern upon her robe being
remarkably elaborate and beautiful. Far more prolific as a
designer of glass than either Rossetti or Morris was Ford Madox
Brown, who between 1862 and 1875 must have supplied, accord-
ing to Mr. F. M. Hueffer's estimate, over 150 designs for the use
of the firm. Among Madox Brown's cartoons for glass, beside
two subjects from the Legend of St. Martin, for the church of
that dedication at Scarborough, may be mentioned Christ blessing
little Children (1862) ; Abraham and Isaac, Isaac blessing Esau,
SS. Paul, Elizabeth, John, and Matthew (1863) ; a magnificent set
of six scenes (designed in 1864 and 1865) from the life and death
of St. Oswald, now occupying the west window of St. Oswald's
Church, Durham ; a series representing the Legend of St. Edith,
for Tamworth Church (1873) ; and two more subjects, the Incre-
dulity of St. Thomas (1874), an d Christ appearing to St. Mary
Magdalene in the Garden (1875).

The church of St. Michael at Brighton, the very first which
Mr. Bodley ever built, contains, in his opinion, some of the finest
specimens of early Morris glass, designed, with the exception
named below, by Burne-Jones. By the font, at the west end of
the south transept of the original church — that is, of the church
as Mr. Bodley built it ; for it has since been enlarged — is a two-
light window, a memorial to Dr. Bodley, representing the Baptism
of Christ. At the east end of the south transept is a small chapel
containing two low windows of two lights each, the subject of the
first being three Angels conducting Mary and Joseph and the
Holy Child into Egypt ; the subject of the other the Angel with
the three Maries at the Sepulchre. Above is a small circle with
the emblematic pelican. But the most interesting and important
glass is that in the west wall of the nave. The upper part is a
rose window, which comprises a seven-foiled circle, containing
the Madonna and Child, surrounded by seven smaller circles,

49 o

each with an angel, robed in dark green, striking a bell, upon a
background of white quarries with yellow stained ornament.
The lower part consists of two double lancets, each pair sur-
mounted by a six-foiled circle, containing respectively St. Michael
and the Dragon on the left, and the Annunciation on the right.
The lancets represent four Archangels in the following order,
reckoned from left to right : St. Michael, with shield and lance,
St. Raphael, St. Uriel, and St. Gabriel holding a lily. The figures
of these four lights, which have, it has been observed, a
" mysterious witch-like glamour " about them, were executed
from designs by Ford Madox Brown in 1863. Other early Morris
glass is at Coddington Church, Newark-on-Trent. The east
window was erected in 1865, and one more at the same time ;
while others have been inserted at various subsequent dates.
The figures are upon a quarried ground, without canopies.

Mr. Madox Brown, in the preface to a catalogue of his ■work
entitled " Cartoons for Stained Glass " (1865), sets forth the
general rules followed by the Pre-Raphaelite painters in the
designing of stained glass and the customary method employed
by Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. in the execution of
the same. " With its heavy lead lines," he says, " surrounding
every part, (and no stained glass can be rational and good without
strong lead lines)," — a fundamental condition which, by the way,
entails the condemnation of Sir Joshua Reynolds's glass pictures,
howsoever admired by American visitors, in the west window of
New College Chapel, Oxford, — " stained glass does not admit of
refined drawing ; or else it is thrown away upon it. What it does
admit of, and what above all things it imperatively requires, is
fine colour," (Sir Joshua Reynolds's glass, mentioned above, is
mostly brown and drab :) " and what it can admit of, and does
very much require also, is invention, expression and good
dramatic action. For this reason work by the greatest historical
artists is not thrown away upon stained glass windows, because,
though high finish of execution is superfluous, and against the
spirit of this beautiful decorative art, yet, as expression and action
can be conveyed in a few strokes equally as in the most elaborate
art, on this side therefore stained glass rises to the epic height.
. . . The cartoons of this firm are never coloured, that task
devolving on Mr. Morris, the manager, who makes his colour (by
selecting the glass) out of the very manufacture of the article.
The revival of the mediaeval art of stained glass dates back now
some twenty years in the earliest established firms ; nevertheless
with the public it is still little understood ; a general impression
prevails that bright colouring is the one thing desirable. . . . The

result of this is that the manufacturers, goaded on by their clients,
and the fatal facility of the material, (for all coloured glass is
bright,) produce too frequently kaleidoscopic effects of the most
painful description."

In some interesting notes on " Stained Glass, Ancient and
Modern," in the " Century Guild Hobby Horse " of October, 1887,
Mr. John Aldam Heaton writes, " In Keble College the other day,
a friend remarked, ' We shall soon want a fresh set of Church
restorations — to get rid of modern stained glass ; ' and certainly
the specimens before us justified the remark— a remark which
brought to one's mind all the gross vulgarity of colour, feebleness
of execution, poverty of design, and general inanity of scheme, all
overshadowed by a strong tendency towards greenish-jaundice,
which characterizes ninety per cent, of all the glass now being
made for cathedrals, churches, and alas ! also for houses."

" I am far indeed from wishing to include Mr. Morris's work
in this condemnation, and as he doesn't make anything like a
tenth of what is produced, I leave room for some respectable work
by other makers : but this does not even veil the fact that the
production of this splendid item of the decorator's art has fallen
into most incompetent hands, and has become a prominent source
of ofe-decoration to our buildings, and of annoyance and vexation
to all men of cultivated taste. . . . The mere fact of modern glass
being drawn on paper only, even by such accomplished designers
as Mr. Burne-Jones, and then transferred to glass by copyists, —
copyists whom one feels inclined to class as ' clerks,' — points at
once to an inevitable and fatal element of inferiority. What
would a man think, having given an order for a picture to an
eminent artist, when he discovered that the eminent artist had
only drawn it in chalk on paper, and then handed it over to his
' young man ' to copy it in colours on canvas ! Yet this is done
universally in stained glass ; whereby we at once lose ' touch,'
sparkle, breadth and originality of handling, and get in exchange
the mechanical monotony of the copyist ; with this further mis-
chief, that whereas the canvas or the panel may bear, and often
with great advantage, the most minute detailing and stippling,
as witness the work of Memling or Van Eyck, such work is fatal
on glass, where translucency should be a prominent characteristic.
. . . The copyist delights in a hard, wire-like, mechanical line, and
is proud of it : the artist avoids it as he would a plague. The
copyist, if he has projection to express, knows no way but
stippling the whole surface — now light maybe, now dark, but
everywhere stippled, suffering always from that most inartistic
fault of not knowing where to stop : the mediaeval artist, who

always appears to have known and felt the qualities and capabi-
lities of the material he was working in, saw at once that sparkle,
translucency — life — disappear under excess of stippling, and so
stopped very far short indeed of the whole surface — often didn't
stipple at all. Indeed, stained glass, theoretically, should be very
much of the nature of a sketch by an able hand, vigorous in con-
ception, strong in the handling of the principal forms, and slight
as possible in mechanism of detail ; practically, the glass should
be variable in thickness, ribby, and full of air bubbles, so as to
produce gradation of colour and enhance the jewel-like effect of
its translucence : at least half of its surface should be left clean
glass for the sun to shine through : no lines should be used and
no ' matting ' more than is absolutely necessary to express the
intention ; and the lead, broad and plentiful, should supply the
place of darks."

Now, tested by these canons, the glass of the firm is pre-
eminently satisfactory. It fulfils even that condition for which
Mr. Heaton seems scarcely to recognize that credit is due to it.
That Mr. Morris felt as keenly as anyone could feel the danger of
glass executed by one man from the paper cartoon of another
losing its spirit and finer qualities in the process of reproduction
is a fact. And accordingly he made a special point of insisting
on the literal preservation of every characteristic of the original
design with the minutest fidelity possible. In every case for the
faces and hands and the more important features, if not invariably
for the remaining portions, he employed none but accomplished
artists like Mr. Fairfax Murray, for example, or Mr. Campfield.
It is not too much to assert that Mr. Murray's rendering of the
Vyner memorial window at Christ Church, Oxford, from Sir
Edward Burne-Jones's cartoons, could not have been surpassed
had the execution of it been the actual work of the designer. If
the system that prevailed at the time that Mr. Morris took the art
in hand was that of mere dead copyism and obliteration of all
character the originals might possess, he certainly was the leader
to a more excellent way when he introduced the reform, now
adopted, in theory at any rate, by all the best firms of stained
glass manufacturers. The quality of the material employed was
another important consideration with Morris, the pot metal being
selected with the utmost care from the stock of Messrs. Powell
and Sons, of Whitefriars. In the early days exception was taken
frequently to the greenish hue of the white glass in the windows
of the firm. Mr. Morris, however, was not to be persuaded to
deviate from the course he had adopted. It was not his fault if
the inartistic custom of modern glass-makers had used the public

to prefer a cold and harsh white to the subtler-toned and mellower
effects of the tinted glass he employed of deliberate purpose. He
trusted that they would, in course of time, understand and approve
what he did ; as indeed it would seem that they have.

Another point to note in Morris glass is that, at the beginning,
flesh-tint glass was used for faces, hands, etc., a pale pot metal
which would readily take yellow stain and could be modified with
enamel colour when it was desired to depict hair, shading, and so
on. The extreme delicacy of handling is indeed the reason why
the finer details of some parts in early Morris glass have perished.
A short period succeeded, in the early seventies, when white glass
for flesh predominated ; after which was resumed flesh-coloured
metal again ; stronger and darker, however, than formerly, and
such that of late years, up to the present time, has continued
deepening in intensity rather than the reverse. It is said that
Morris was confirmed in his preference for this usage on seeing
the effect: of the large windows, when completed, of the Nativity
and Crucifixion, executed by the firm in 1888, from Sir Edward
Burne-Jones's cartoons, for St. Philip's, Birmingham : so struck
was Morris with admiration for these splendid specimens of
stained glass, held both by himself and by the designer for favour-
ites among the many windows they had produced together. At St.
Philip's the flesh tints are for the most part somewhat pronounced ;
those of the male figures in particular being of a dark brownish
colour, strongly marked. It is not to be pretended that in the
course of years there has been no change or development in the
style of Morris glass. Nowhere perhaps is the contrast, both in
scheme and colouring, illustrated more strikingly than in St.
John's Church, Torquay, where the east and west windows are
separated by an interval of many years. Nor to an unprejudiced
mind can there be any question as to which of the two accords
the better with the traditional character of stained glass, or which
is the more appropriate for its ecclesiastical purpose : the east
window, of early date, with its stately figures in rich-toned robes
against a light background, or the recent west window (repre-
senting the nine choirs of Angels), crowded as it is with wings and
draperies, of every gradation of colour from pink to lavender, a
Burne-Jones picture every inch of it, albeit the material is glass.
The same criticism applies, though perhaps in a lesser degree, to
the glass at Morton Church, near Gainsborough, and particularly
to a window on the north side of the church, the subject being
the stoning of St. Stephen, and to the east window, in which the
pictorial rendering of sky and landscape might almost suggest a
parallel to Munich glass. Moreover these windows tend to

53 p

darken the church instead of admitting light. But happily this
type is not the most general among the hundreds of windows
produced by the firm from the designs of Sir Edward Burne-
Jones, the artist who has supplied them with by far the largest
proportion of cartoons for their stained glass.

Among the superb windows designed by Burne-Jones it
seems invidious to single out any one as the best, in derogation
as it were of the others. In 1866 he designed some splendid
glass for the east window of All Saints' Church, built by Mr.
Bodley at Cambridge. Afterwards there followed, in the
seventies, a whole series of windows in the neighbouring Chapel
of Jesus College. Of these the finest is undoubtedly the large
window in the south wall of the south transept. The subject is
the celestial hierarchy, of every grade, and, next after them,
man made in the image of God, occupying the batement lights
and two tiers of the five large lights, above the transom. Below
are five virgin saints, viz. : SS. Ursula, Dorothea, Radegund,
Cecilia and Catherine; and below these again, Bishop Alcock,
founder of the College, between the four Latin Fathers, SS.
Jerome and Gregory on the left, and SS. Ambrose and Augustin
on the right. No reproduction can convey the glorious effect of
colour, more especially of the yellows, which range from palest
amber to fiery orange in wings and other details of the composi-
tion. The south transept is lighted by two windows on either
side, of three lights each ; the scheme of subjects being the four
Evangelists, one in the middle of each window, between two
Sibyls, and smaller groups beneath from the life of our Lord.
There are other fine windows by the firm in the nave — some
half-hidden by the organ — and in the north transept : in all
eleven Morris windows. It may be mentioned here that the
firm was also employed under Mr. Bodley, to whose hands was
committed the restoration of the Chapel, to decorate the roof of
the nave. For this purpose Morris himself designed a series of
Angels holding scrolls inscribed with the Vexilla Regis. These
were executed in tempera on either side of the coved roof.

Covering about the same period as the windows at Jesus
College are those, also from Burne-Jones's designs, at Christ
Church, Oxford ; and it would be difficult to find more magnificent
examples of Morris glass than three out of the four. The earliest
in date, a four-light window, contains large figures of Samuel,
David, St. John and Timothy. All in white, relieved in parts
with yellow diapering, they show up strikingly against a back-
ground of dark green foliage showing over the top of a blue
tapestry curtain. The pavement on which they stand is pale

ST. MATTHEW.
Painted Glass in Jesus College Chapel, Cam-
bridge; designed by SirE. Burne-Jones, Bart.

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ANGELS AND SAINTS.
Painted Glass in Jesus College Chapel, Cam-
bridge ; designed by SirE. Burne-Jones, Bart.

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red, while their halos are of spoilt ruby glass, the effect of which,
flecked with blood and flame colour, produced solely by the metal
being coated without uniformity of surface, is remarkably rich
and jewel-like. The flesh tints, perhaps by contrast to the white
draperies, seem rather deep than otherwise. The colour scheme
of the lower groups is mainly blue, bluish green, olive, amber
and white. The next window, to the right of the last, is not less
beautiful. It consists of three lights and represents St. Cecilia
between two Angels. The red nimbuses the light flesh tints, the
draperies all white except for the brownish purple lining of the
robe of the right-hand figure, the Angels' wings of pale blue,
splashed here and there with yellow stain, make an exquisite
contrast to the rich green foliage and dark peacock-blue hangings
draped in the background. The prevailing colours of the small
groups below, from the life of the Saint, are blue, white and
amber. To the south of the altar and, like the two foregoing, in
the east wall also, is a window erected in 1877, representing St.
Catherine between the Angel of Suffering and the Angel of
Victory. Against a background of green foliage, of purple walls
and dark blue curtains, the three figures stand all in white ; the
figure of the Saint peculiarly majestic, the Angels having spoilt
ruby halos, the mutilated hands of the Angel on the left being
veiled in a cloth of light cinnamon hue, — the same colour as the
flames which the Angel on the opposite side is combating. Deeper
tones prevail in the lower compartments, one of the floating
Angels who carry the body of St. Catherine to her burial being of
a ripe orange ; while the glory of cherubim surrounding the Christ
in the middle panel has an indescribable glow of ruby, purple
and blue.

Among other windows of the firm may be named those in
Peterhouse Combination Room at Cambridge, dating between
1869 and 1874. This room contains five windows of two lights
each and a large bay window of six lights. The subject of the
four windows on the north side is a series of poets from Homer
to Milton, from designs by Madox Brown and Burne-Jones, upon
a diamond quarried background. The two-light window on the
south side represents King Edward I. and the founder, Hugh de
Balsham, Bishop of Ely, designed by Madox Brown ; while the
bay window, on the same side of the room, illustrates Chaucer's
" Legend of Good Women " from designs by Burne-Jones, the
figures being portrayed in colours on a grisaille and yellow-
stained background. In 1864 there were purchased for the South
Kensington Museum four panels, by Messrs. Morris, Marshall,
Faulkner and Co., three of them identical with the Peterhouse

glass, viz., those which represent the poet Chaucer asleep, Dido
and Cleopatra and the God of Love with Alceste. The fourth
panel is a very beautiful head of Penelope, in the form of a
medallion, within a wreath, upon a quarried ground of conven-
tional floral pattern.

The west window of the Parish Church at Bishopsbourne,
near Canterbury, is filled with Morris glass, designed by Burne-
Jones, and erected in 1874. The three large lights are occupied
by symbolical representations of Faith, Hope, and Charity,
similar in drawing to those in the west window of the south aisle
at Christ Church, only that the figures at Oxford are strong in
colour, whereas at Bishopsbourne they are clothed entirely in
white, which gives them a totally different effect. A richer
colour tone is concentrated in the lower part of the window,
which contains crouching figures symbolical of the vices opposed
to the three theological virtues ; while in the two batement lights
at the top are Angels playing on pipes.

Next may be mentioned the glass, designed by Burne-Jones,
at Paisley Abbey : and also the window, designed by the same
hand and executed by Morris and Co. in 1879, in the south choir
aisle of Salisbury Cathedral ; — the subject being two ministering
and two praising Angels. In the early eighties Burne-Jones
designed windows for the Savoy Chapel and for St. Peter's, Vere
Street, and in 1885 for St. Giles's, Edinburgh. Thenceforward,
nay, even before that date (for it is a fact that the late Dean
Stanley was an admirer of the work of the firm and that Morris,
had he chosen, might have obtained the order to execute stained
glass for Westminster Abbey itself), it became a rare thing to
find Morris glass inserted in any ancient building. There were
of course special exceptions, as in places where glass of the firm
existed already, and Mr. Morris was pressed to supply more
en suite with the previous work ; or where personal claims seemed
to justify such a proceeding, as in the case of the village church
of Rottingdean, the country home of Burne-Jones. It was
indeed a matter of principle with Morris, who, in order to be in a
position to protest against the terrible disfiguring of old buildings
by the introduction of wretched modern glass, etc., by others, had
to set a consistent example and refrain himself. The pity of it
was that this policy of his could not be guaranteed to effect the
object he desired. For, given a person who has formed the
generous determination to present a stained glass window — a
memorial as often as not — to any particular church : Suppose the
capable firm has been offered and has refused the order, what is to
hinder the intending donor from having recourse to some inferior

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ST. CECILIA.

Part of Window in Christ Church, Oxford ;

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firm of glass-makers, and thereby swelling the roll of deplorable
defacements to ancient buildings. It is to be feared that Morris's
conscientious scruples in this regard have made our land the
poorer by the loss of many examples of stained glass which
might else have been in existence.

A Morris window of importance and of recent date also —
since it was erected only in 1895 — * s the east window of Holy
Trinity Church, Sloane Street. The glass was designed by
Burne-Jones, but it must be confessed that, as a conception, it is
far from deserving to rank among that great artist's most suc-
cessful achievements. Here was a grand and, one may say, a
unique opportunity; one of the largest window surfaces in
London, and such that had the further advantage of Mr. Sedding's
beautiful tracery to serve as a basis for the ornamental glass.
But who is prepared to maintain that the glass bears any sort of
relation to the tracery it fills? Does not it consist rather of a
collection of figures, which, since they are designed by one and
the same hand, have, it is true, a strong family likeness, but no
homogeneity of plan beyond being all displayed similarly upon a
background of tapestry-like foliage ? What material difference
would a dozen more or less of such figures have made to the
work as an ordered and cohesive composition ? Nay, a sampler,
like this one, of sacred iconography, is capable of almost any
number of additions or subtractions without increasing or
impairing to an appreciable degree its completeness as an
organic whole. It is scarcely necessary to observe that, regarded
by itself, every single figure is beautiful, as whatever Burne-
Jones draws is bound to be. But, taken into account the position
they occupy, their scale is too small to be proportionate to the
great size of the window, in which, surely, if anywhere, a large
and broad treatment is what was required. These remarks are
not intended to reflect in any sense upon the execution or quality
of the glass, which is as perfect as one would wish and quite
worthy of the renowned firm that produced it.

The ceramic art, or rather that branch of it represented by
the ornamentation of tiles, is another industry which owes its
rescue from degradation to William Morris. " All nations," said
he, in his Lecture on " The Lesser Arts of Life " (published in
1882), "however barbarous, have made pottery; . . . but none
have ever failed to make it on true principles, none have made
shapes ugly or base till quite modern times. I should say that
the making of ugly pottery was one of the most remarkable
inventions of our civilization." A little further on Morris states
the main principles that should regulate the ornamentation of

57 Q

fitftiles. " As to the surface decoration on pottery, it is clear it
must never be printed ; . . . one rule we have for a guide, and
whatever we do if we abide by it, we are quite sure to go wrong
if we neglect it : and it is common to all the lesser arts. Think
of your material. Don't paint anything on pottery save what can
be painted only on pottery ; if you do it is clear that however
good a draughtsman you may be, you do not care about that
special art. You can't suppose that the Greek wall-painting was
anything like their painting on pottery — there is plenty of evi-
dence to show that it was not. Or, take another example from
the Persian art ; it is easy for those conversant with it to tell
from an outline tracing of a design whether it was done for
pottery painting or for other work."

It was at the beginning of 1862, and some tiles were required
for use at the Red House. But at that time there simply were
no hand-painted tiles produced in this country. So Morris had
to begin from the very beginning. Plain white tiles were im-
ported by the firm from Holland, and Morris, Faulkner and
others set about experimenting with various glazes, enamels, &c,
until the desired results were obtained. The same kiln that was
used for firing the stained glass was made to serve for the tiles
also. An iron muffle with iron shelves carried the glass in the
middle part, while the tiles were so placed as to be exposed to
the greatest heat, at the top and bottom. A small wind-furnace
was employed for slips and for colour-testing experiments.
Burne-Jones furnished the figure designs that were painted on
the earliest tiles of the firm. These figures having first been
outlined by others, Mr. Morris, with Mr. Faulkner's help, tinted
in the flat surfaces with enamel colour. After the first firing a
soft glaze of the firm's own composition was applied to the
surface of the tiles.

A set of tiles, with figures of Adam and Eve, was painted in
readiness for the Exhibition of 1862, and was in fact delivered
and unpacked with a view to being exhibited. But when Mr.
William Burges, the architect, saw them, he failed to appreciate
the decorative value of some scrolls, with verses by Morris, that
had been introduced into the composition. Whereupon, in order
to avoid misunderstandings, Morris had the tiles removed from
among the exhibits, without submitting them to the inspection of
the hanging committee as a body. Morris, however, was far
from being deterred in any way by this incident, and the produc-
tion of hand-painted tiles continued to be from thenceforward
one of the regular crafts of the firm. Among Burne-Jones's
designs for tiles were a series to illustrate Chaucer's " Good

Women," the story of Cinderella, a favourite subject which was
reproduced repeatedly, and the legend of the Sleeping Beauty.
Rossetti and Madox Brown also designed tiles for the firm.
There was one set of designs — a joint production — representing
the several occupations of the months and seasons of the year.
Of these Madox Brown designed the pictures of tree-felling,
seed-sowing, and sheep-shearing, while Morris himself designed
a mower whetting his scythe. Morris designed in addition a
number of tiles of conventional floral and other diaper patterns
to surround the figure subjects for fireplaces, &c. Of these one
which was used frequently was known as the " Swan pattern."
It has been said above that at first Morris and Faulkner used to
paint tiles themselves ; later Miss Lucy Faulkner undertook this
branch of the work in place of her brother and Mr. Morris. Miss
Kate Faulkner also painted tiles for the firm, and continued to do
so until within a few years ago. After Miss Lucy Faulkner's
marriage the firm produced but few figure-subject: tiles ; one of
the last of these being a medallion tile presented by Mr. Morris
to Baron Leys.

Effective use of tiles was made by Messrs. Morris, Marshall,
Faulkner and Co. for internal decorations. The firm supplied
tiles of figure panels surrounded by diaper ornament for the
fireplace in the hall of Sandroyd House, Cobham, Surrey, a
house Mr. Webb built for Mr. Stanhope shortly after Morris's
Red House at Upton. It so happened that both owners gave up
their respective houses within a short period of one another.

The two fireplaces in Peterhouse Combination Room were
fitted in 1870 with Morris tiles, in the shape of figure panels on a
floral diaper ground. The larger of the fireplaces has representa-
tions of the four seasons, with verses by Morris — the same which
he published in " The Academy " of February 1st, 1871 ; while
the panels in the smaller fireplace have figures of SS. Peter and
George. The chimney-breast of the Hall at Queen's College,
Cambridge, is decorated by the firm with hand-painted tiles,
consisting of figure subjects upon a ground-work of blue diaper
ornament, within a conventional border of the same colour. The
figures represent the two royal foundresses, Margaret of Anjou
and Elizabeth Woodville, designed by Madox Brown in 1873 ; the
tutelary saints of the college, SS. Bernard and Margaret, and
allegorical figures of the twelve months of the year.

It was owing in great measure to Mr. Morris's initiative that
Mr. William de Morgan, now of Chelsea and Great Marlborough
Street, took up the art. He worked for a time in connection with
Morris and Co., though his business is and was quite distinct

from theirs. How he has revived and developed the exquisite
Hispano-Moresque lustre for the painting of tiles and other
fictile objects is well known to all artists and connoisseurs. Some
early Morris tiles having suffered through the excess of borax in
the ordinary enamels of commerce, the only colours available at
the time that the industry was revived, the firm abandoned the
use of them, and latterly the only colours used by Morris and Co.
for the purpose have been those prepared and supplied by Mr. de
Morgan.

The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. had been in
existence scarcely six years when they were commissioned to
carry out the internal decorations of the Green Dining-Room at
the South Kensington Museum. In this room are two windows,
containing in all six panels, with figures, robed in white, designed
by Burne-Jones in 1866 and 1867. These panels form a horizontal
band across the windows, with roundels — another form of win-
dow decoration revived by Morris — above and below, of pale
greenish white glass painted with a delicate pattern of conven-
tional ornament. The walls of the dining-room are panelled
with wood, painted green and rising to about half the height of
the room from the floor. The upper panels are gilt, the majority of
them being decorated with painted sprays of various trees and
flowers, while at intervals, in place of these floral designs, are
panels with decorative figures painted on them. It is charac-
teristic of Mr. Morris's scrupulous thoroughness that, after the
panels were finished, he came to the conclusion that the work,
having been carried out by different painters, was not uniform
enough in style to make a consecutive or harmonious scheme of
decoration. Accordingly he was not satisfied until they had all
been repainted almost afresh by the hand of Mr. Fairfax Murray.
The wall-space above the panelling is covered with a conven-
tional pattern of foliage in relief; and round the top runs a frieze
with panels depicting a chase of animals.

From 1870 to 1873 Dr. Sandford, now Protestant titular
Bishop of Gibraltar, held the living of Bishopsbourne (a country
parish the associations of which possess an interest for some
because Richard Hooker, called " the judicious," was a former
rector ; the yew-trees planted by him being shown in the garden
to this day), and Mr. Morris, as a friend of Dr. Sandford's, visited
him at Bishopsbourne Rectory and decorated the dining-room
there (the same room in which Hooker died). The decoration is
of simple character, consisting of a delicate conventional pattern
stencilled on the plaster between the moulded rafters ; a narrow
scroll painted round the top of the wall immediately below the

roof-beams ; and a Gothic pattern, brighter in colour and more
solid than the rest, stencilled upon the panels of the dado.

Of the many industries connected with the name of Morris,
none has more universal celebrity than that of wall-paper hang-
ings ; and rightly so. For it was Morris who made this a truly
valuable branch of domestic ornamentation ; Morris, who ele-
vated it from the level of a temporary expedient of no great
account to be a craft of the first rank. If in some other instances
he was rather the restorer and infuser of fresh life into arts fallen
into degeneracy, he was nothing short of a creator in the case of
wall-paper design, which, as a serious decorative art, owes its
existence to him before anyone else. The youngest in point of
date, it is yet, of all the art industries of the present time, not far
from being the most satisfactory, regarded from the standpoint
of taste. It commands the services of the very foremost of
decorative artists amongst us, of Messrs. Voysey, Butterfield,
Walter Crane, Lewis Day, Heywood Sumner, Mawson, Silver,
and many more beside.

The importance of paying due regard to the artistic treat-
ment of our wall spaces is a matter on which Morris has insisted
in his lecture on " The Lesser Arts of Life," wherein he says,
" Whatever you have in your rooms, think first of the walls ; for
they are that which makes your house and home ; and if you
don't make some sacrifice in their favour, you will find your
chambers have a kind of makeshift, lodging-house look about
them, however rich and handsome your movables may be."
Thus much for the general principle. Coming to details, " I sup-
pose I am bound," writes Morris, "to say something on the quite
modern and very humble, but, as things go, useful art of printing
patterns on paper for wall hangings. But really there is not
much to be said about it, unless we were considering the
arrangement and formation of its patterns ; because it is so very
free from those difficulties the meeting and conquering of which
give character to the more intricate crafts. I think the real way
to deal successfully with designing for paper-hangings is to
accept their mechanical nature frankly, to avoid falling into the
trap of trying to make your paper look as if it were painted by
hand. Here is the place, if anywhere, for dots and lines and
hatchings : mechanical enrichment is of the first necessity in it.
After that you may be as intricate and elaborate in your pattern
as you please ; nay, the more and the more mysteriously you
interweave your sprays and stems the better for your purpose,
as the whole thing has to be pasted flat on a wall, and the cost
of all this intricacy will but come out of your own brain and

61 R

hand. For the rest, the fact that in this art we are so little
helped by beautiful and varying material imposes on us the
necessity for being specially thoughtful in our designs ; every
one of them must have a distinct idea in it ; some beautiful piece
of nature must have pressed itself on our notice so forcibly that
we are quite full of it, and can, by submitting ourselves to the
rules of art, express our pleasure to others, and give them some
of the keen delight that we ourselves have felt. If we cannot do
this in some measure our paper design will not be worth much ;
it will be but a makeshift expedient for covering a wall with
something or other ; and if we really care about art we shall not
put up with ' something or other,' but shall choose honest white-
wash instead, on which sun and shadow play so pleasantly, if
only our room be well planned and well shaped, and look kindly
on us." In the lecture, " Making the Best of it," with reference to
the structure of patterns, Morris makes some general observa-
tions, which, however, apply in a peculiar degree to wall-paper
design: "Whereas it has been said that a recurring pattern
should be constructed on a geometrical basis, it is clear that it
cannot be constructed otherwise ; only the structure may be
more or less masked, and some designers take a great deal of
pains to do so. I cannot say that I think this always necessary.
It may be so when the pattern is on a very small scale, and
meant to attract but little attention. But it is sometimes the
reverse of desirable in large and important patterns, and, to my
mind, all noble patterns should at least look large. Some of the
finest and pleasantest of these show their geometrical structure
clearly enough ; and if the lines of them grow strongly and flow
gracefully, I think they are decidedly helped by their structure
not being elaborately concealed. At the same time, in all
patterns which are meant to fill the eye and satisfy the mind,
there should be a certain mystery. We should not be able to
read the whole thing at once, nor desire to do so, nor be impelled
by that desire to go on tracing line after line to find out how the
pattern is made, and I think that the obvious presence of a
geometrical order, if it be, as it should be, beautiful, tends
towards this end, and prevents our feeling restless over a pattern.
That every line in a pattern should have its due growth, and be
traceable to its beginning ... is undoubtedly essential to the
finest pattern work ; equally so is it that no stem should be so
far from its parent stock as to look weak or wavering. . . .
Everyone who has practised the designing of patterns knows
the necessity for covering the ground equably and richly. This
is really to a great extent the secret of obtaining the look of

satisfying mystery aforesaid, and it is the very test of capacity in
a designer. Finally, no amount of delicacy is too great in draw-
ing the curves of a pattern, no amount of care in getting the
leading lines right from the first, can be thrown away, for beauty
of detail cannot afterwards cure any shortcoming in this.
Remember that a pattern is either right or wrong. It cannot be
forgiven for blundering. ... It is ■with a pattern as with a
fortress, it is no stronger than its weakest point. A failure for
ever recurring torments the eye too much to allow the mind to
take any pleasure in suggestion and intention."

" As to the second moral quality of design, meaning, I include
in that the invention and imagination which forms the soul of
this art, as of all others, and which, when submitted to the bonds
of order, has a body and a visible existence. Now . . . form may
be taught, but the spirit that breathes through it cannot be. So
I will content myself with saying this on these qualities, that
though a designer may put all manner of strangeness and
surprise into his patterns, he must not do so at the expense of
beauty. You will never find a case in this kind of work where
ugliness and violence are not the result of barrenness, and not of
fertility of invention. The fertile man, he of resource, has not to
worry himself about invention. He need but think of beauty
and simplicity of expression ; his work will grow on and on, one
thing leading to another, as it fares with a beautiful tree. . . .
No pattern should be without some sort of meaning. True it is
that that meaning may have come down to us traditionally, and
not be our own invention, yet we must at heart understand it, or
we can neither receive it, nor hand it down to our successors. It
is no longer tradition if it is servilely copied, without change, the
token of life. You may be sure that the softest and loveliest of
patterns will weary the steadiest admirers of their school as soon
as they see that there is no hope of growth in them. For you
know all art is compact of effort, of failure and of hope, and we
cannot but think that somewhere perfection lies ahead, as we
look anxiously for the better thing that is to come from the good.
Furthermore, you must not only mean something in your patterns,
but must also be able to make others understand that meaning.
. . . Now the only way in our craft of design for compelling
people to understand you is to follow hard on Nature ; for what
else can you refer people to, or what else is there which every-
body can understand ? everybody that it is worth addressing
yourself to, which includes all people who can feel and think."

In the manufacture of hand-printed wall-papers it was
Morris's original intention to use zinc plates prepared by a

method somewhat akin to process engraving at the present day,
which however proved too slow and laborious to be practicable.
Morris therefore had to have recourse to the ordinary mode of
block-cutting; and the firm engaged the services of a block-
cutter named Barrett of Bethnal Green, who undertook to
execute the blocks under the personal supervision of Mr. Morris.
Again, in the matter of the printing, Morris's plan was to obtain
more varied and artistic effects with transparent pigments instead
of the solid body colours then in general use for the purpose.
The production of paper-hangings has now reached so advanced
a stage of development that there is not the smallest difficulty in
the employment of wash tints, but in those early days the scheme
could not be carried out. Indeed, but a brief period of trials on
their own account convinced the firm of the expediency of trans-
ferring the manufacture of wall-papers bodily — the block-cutting
as well as the printing — from their own premises to the experi-
enced hands of Mr. Metford Warner, the acting principal of
Messrs. Jeffrey and Co., Essex Road, Islington. The result was
so satisfactory that the arrangement has been allowed to continue
to this day. Messrs. Jeffrey and Co. have a separate department
which they reserve exclusively for the carrying out of the work
entrusted to them by Morris and Co., the paper-hangings so
produced remaining, as it is perhaps scarcely necessary to say,
the sole property of the latter.

The designs, with comparatively few exceptions, have always
been drawn by William Morris himself. The first wall-paper to
be designed, though it came third in order of production, consists
of a trellis, which gives its name to the pattern, intertwining
roses, somewhat stiff in growth, and brown birds here and there
among the branches. Morris diffidently refrained from designing
the bird forms with his own hand, preferring to have them drawn
by Mr. Philip Webb. The earliest Morris wall-paper issued was
the " Daisy," a quaint pattern consisting of plant-groups of daisies,
columbines, &c, dotted at regular intervals on the field, in a
manner so formal as none but a master of design could have
ventured to do, nor certainly anyone else have achieved success
in doing. Here then, with a frankness which in a designer less
gifted must have produced inevitably results both harsh and
crude, Morris has accepted the mechanical limitations of his
craft and has triumphed in that accepting. The dexterity
involved in a design like this is such that few perhaps would
suspect. Yet if that saying be true, Ars est cclare artem, then this is
a consummate work of art. Some of Morris's patterns may
possibly lend themselves to adaptation or— not to mince matters —

to imitation, but this at least is out of reach, its virtues incom-
municable. It has a delicacy of touch about it, a character
all its own. The colours employed in it are neither few in
number nor low in tone, and yet they are combined with such
judgment that the harmony of the whole is perfect. There be
Morris papers which, subordinate in scheme of colouring and
undemonstrative of line, admit readily enough of accessory orna-
ments in the way of china, pictures, and so on. But the " Daisy "
pattern is not of the number of these. It gives a room in which
it may be hung an air of distinction and completeness that seems
to deprecate any further embellishment. In a word, the " Daisy "
is a marvel of supreme cleverness ; and withal one of which the
popularity declines no whit as time goes by. It is a startling
evidence of the strength and original qualities of Morris's work
that a design of his like this should have lost none of its charm
and freshness after having been before the public for over thirty
years. It is to this day among those most in demand, if not
actually itself the most in demand of all his wall-papers. The
second paper brought out by the firm was named the " Fruit," a
design of stiff diagonal branches contrasting with the roundness
of apples and pomegranates and the freer shapes of leaves and
blossoms. After the " Trellis " Morris's next designs brought
out were the " Diaper," the " Scroll," and the " Branch," of which
none calls for any special remark. The " Larkspur " followed,
in one print on a white ground, a very characteristic and beau-
tiful pattern, with firmly-drawn leafage, the convolutions of which
aptly illustrate Morris's remarks, quoted above, about the import-
ance of getting one's curves true in a pattern. No more noble
instance than this could be found of the value of careful draughts-
manship. The design contains also larkspur flowers and roses,
not however very conspicuous. The name of the "Jasmine"
indicates sufficiently the subject of the next design, which is in
several colours. Then comes a peculiarly beautiful, if severe,
design called the " Marigold," a single print, the pattern showing
light upon a deeper toned ground. It has certain qualities of
drawing in common with the " Larkspur," and yet, set side by
side, the two designs are quite distinct. Both, however, possess
in a marked degree that indefinable sense of immortality which
is the property of the best work in every age. Produced years
ago they seem nevertheless as new as if they had been designed
only yesterday. Though other designs should wax old and
perish with the transient phases and fashions whose reflection
they are, there is no danger of these at any rate ever becoming
antiquated, or failing to fulfil the desire of human beings that

65 s

crave for vital beauty ; and that just because they bear no label
of place or period, but have in themselves a life that is free and
independent of every change of time and circumstance. There
is hardly need to say that it is not intended to limit the applica-
tion of these remarks to the particular designs of Morris's which
occasioned them. Only it happens that his wall-paper patterns,
being both numerous and varied, furnish more typical instances
than are to be met with in any one other branch of his art.
After the " Marigold " came his " Lily " pattern, recalling in some
sort the " Daisy ; " then the " Powdered," and after that the
" Willow." The last is a handsome design of willow-sprays
upon an under-printed background of hawthorn blossoms. Next
in order is the " Vine," a fine design which later was reproduced
with bronze colouring. The " Acanthus " is a magnificent design.
The grand sweep of the foliage, the rich and varied gradations of
its colouring combine to produce a sumptuous effect which indi-
cates the highest attainable point in paper staining, and such
that could scarcely be surpassed even in tapestry-weaving. The
pattern is so elaborate that it requires a double set of blocks and
cannot be produced with less than thirty-two printings. It was
made first in red, afterwards in a similar combination of green
tones, and still more recently in yellowish browns. The " Pim-
pernel," the " Wreath," and the " Rose " preceded the " Chrysan-
themum," a large and handsome pattern in many colours, and
next the " Apple." The last has a leaf which forms a prominent
feature together with the fruit upon a background of willow
leaves. There followed next a ceiling-paper in one print, con-
sisting of floral forms, necessarily rigid in arrangement. After-
wards came the " Sunflower," the " Acorn," the " Poppy," and
the " Carnation." Next an order for St. James's Palace evoked a
very splendid wall-filling of conventional forms on a large scale
and roses introduced in a less prominent manner, the whole
printed in an elaborate scheme of colouring. The St. James's
ceiling, designed to go with the last-named, is a large pattern,
printed, however, in one colour only. The " Bird and Anemone "
is a replica of a design for cretonne. The " Grafton " was suc-
ceeded by a ceiling-paper in which boldness of effect is in no way
sacrificed, in spite of its being in several colours and altogether
of a less simple character than the former ones. The " Wild
Tulip " followed, a striking pattern with a large leaf, of which the
form is emphasized by the ingenious use of dots ; the background
being also dotted. The composition includes a flower not unlike
that in the above-mentioned "Poppy" pattern. Mr. Morris's
next wall-paper was the " Fritillary," which has a very marked

leaf and some points of resemblance to the " Wild Tulip " design.
Next is the " Garden Tulip " pattern, which consists of a tulip
spray strongly accentuated by the slight and almost thin treat-
ment of the background ; next the '•' Lily and Pomegranate," a
design which also includes marigolds — a stiff pattern in many
colours with a dotted ground; next the "Willow Bough," a more
naturalistic treatment than the earlier " Willow ; " and next one
named the " Merton," of no particular importance. The above
were followed by the " Bruges," a superb design which it is
impossible to praise in terms too high. Though entirely original
in detail, its general aspect is more thoroughly Gothic and tradi-
tional than that of anything Morris ever produced in the way of
repeated ornament. Conceived on broad mediaeval lines, it forms
a decoration which, upon the walls of a fifteenth century building,
is in perfect accord with its surroundings. More in its favour
could not well be said. Itself diagonal in plan, the " Bruges "
was followed by a doubled pattern called " Autumn Flowers ; "
and then by the " Borage " ceiling-paper, a design in one print.
The " Norwich " wall-paper is another instance of the effective
use that may be made of dots in this class of design. Conven-
tionalized peonies, roses, &c, are here rendered in an elaborate
scheme of colouring. The " Wall-flower " again is an example of
dotted ornament. The " Hammersmith " has a large conven-
tional form repeated in smaller compass than the " Norwich,"
which, however, in many ways it resembles. The " Pink and
Rose," in one print, is an example of flat and decorative treat-
ment for wall-surfaces ; while the " Double Bough " introduces
some familiar Morris forms and methods once more. The
" Triple Net " is a light pattern on a coloured ground ; while the
" Flora," on the other hand, in colours on a white ground, is
somewhat thin in effect. The " Bachelor's Button " design is yet
another instance in which boldly-treated foliage and other well-
known Morris forms appear ; and the " Lechlade " is a large
pattern in very light and delicate colouring, great concentric
leaf-sprays and purely conventional flower forms being employed
with admirable effect. The " Spring Thicket " is a large, set
pattern with lilies, executed in soft and harmonious colouring.
The " Compton," another very fine pattern in many colours upon
a dark ground, has been reproduced also in the form of a cretonne.
The " Net " ceiling-paper, in several colours, completes the list of
Mr. Morris's designs for paper-hangings. Of the remaining
patterns produced by the firm, amounting in all to no more than
twenty, four were adaptations from various sources, while the
rest were original designs by Miss Faulkner, Miss May Morris,

and last, but not least, by Mr. H. Dearie, who has for some time
past been resident manager of the works at Merton Abbey. It
should be remarked that many of Messrs. Morris and Co.'s wall-
papers have at different times been brought out by them in
additional colourings, or with variations in their schemes of
colouring subsequently to their original appearance ; and also
that by far the largest majority of the papers are printed from
hand-blocks alone, but an insignificant proportion being machine-
printed, e.g., the " Loop Trail," " Merton," " Carnation," and the
" Oak Tree." The latter, designed by Mr. Dearie, is the most
recent of all Morris and Co.'s patterns in paper-hangings.

It was but two or three years after the firm of Morris,
Marshall, Faulkner and Co. came into being that Mr. Morris
formed the project of adding weaving to their other undertakings.
What he has to say on the subject of this craft will be found in
the address on " The Lesser Arts of Life," included in the volume
of Lectures on Art by various authors, published in 1882 ; in the
lecture entitled " Textile Fabrics " (in which the subject is
treated mainly from the historical point of view), delivered in the
Lecture Room of the International Health Exhibition in London
on July nth, 1884, and afterwards issued by authority as an official
handbook ; and lastly in the Essay prefixed to the Catalogue of
the first Exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Society in the autumn
of 1888, and republished in 1893 in the volume of collected Essays.
In the first of these works, after referring briefly to the making of
plain cloth which is " not susceptible of ornament," Morris says :
" As the designing of woven stuffs fell into degradation in the
latter days, the designers got fidgeting after trivial novelties ;
change for the sake of change ; they must needs strives to make
their woven flowers look as if they were painted with a brush, or
even sometimes as if they were drawn by the engraver's burin.
This gave them plenty of trouble and exercised their ingenuity
in the tormenting of their web with spots and stripes and ribs
and the rest of it, but quite destroyed the seriousness of the work
and even its raison d'etre. As of pottery-painting, so of figure-
weaving : do nothing in it but that which only weaving can do :
and to this end make your design as elaborate as you please in
silhouette, but carry it out simply ; you are not drawing lines
freely with your shuttle, you are building up a pattern with a
fine rectilinear mosaic. If this is kept well in mind by the
designer, and he does not try to force his material into no-
thoroughfares, he may have abundant pleasure in the making of
woven stuffs, and he is perhaps less likely to go wrong (if he has
a feeling for colour) in this art than in any other. I will say

further that he should be careful to get due proportions between
his warp and weft : not to starve the first, which is the body of
the web so to say, for the sake of the second, which is its clothes :
this is done now-a-days over much by ingenious designers who
are trying to make their web look like non-mechanical stuffs, or
who want to get a delusive show of solidity in a poor cloth, which
is much to be avoided : a similar fault we are too likely to fall
into is of a piece with what is done in all the lesser arts to-day ;
and which doubtless is much fostered by the ease given to our
managers of works by the over-development of machinery : I am
thinking of the weaving up of rubbish into apparently delicate
and dainty wares. No man, with the true instinct of a workman,
should have anything to do with this : it may not mean com-
mercial dishonesty, though I suspect it sometimes does, but it
must mean artistic dishonesty : poor materials in this craft, as in
all others, should only be used in coarse work, where they are
used without pretence for what they are : this we must agree to
at once, or sink all art in commerce (so-called) in these crafts."
In the Arts and Crafts Essay Morris writes : " Mechanical
weaving has to repeat the pattern on the cloth within compara-
tively narrow limits ; the number of colours also is limited in
most cases to four or five. In most cloths so woven, therefore,
the best plan seems to be to choose a pleasant ground colour and
to superimpose a pattern mainly composed of either a lighter
shade of that colour, or a colour in no very strong contrast to the
ground ; and then, if you are using several colours, to light up
this general arrangement either with a more forcible outline, or
by spots of stronger colour carefully disposed. Often the lighter
shade on the darker suffices, and hardly calls for anything else :
some very beautiful cloths are merely damasks, in which the
warp and weft are of the same colour, but a different tone is
obtained by the figure and the ground being woven with a longer
or shorter twill : the tabby being tied by the warp very often, the
satin much more rarely. In any case, the patterned webs pro-
duced by mechanical weaving, if the ornament is to be effective
and worth the doing, require that same Gothic crispness and
clearness of detail which has been spoken of before : the geo-
metrical structure of the pattern, which is a necessity in all
recurring patterns, should be boldly insisted upon, so as to draw
the eye from accidental figures, which the recurrence of the
pattern is apt to produce. The meaningless stripes and spots and
other tormentings of the simple twill of the web, which are so
common in the woven ornament of the eighteenth century and
our own times, should be carefully avoided : all these things are

69 T

the last resource of a jaded invention and a contempt of the
simple and fresh beauty that comes of a sympathetic suggestion of
natural forms : if the pattern be vigorously and firmly drawn
with a true feeling for the beauty of line and silhouette, the play of
light and shade on the material of the simple twill will give all
the necessary variety."

Morris's attention is said to have been drawn to the industry
of weaving in the first place by the mere accident of seeing a
man in the street selling toy models of weaving machines, when
it occurred to him to buy one and to practise upon it for himself.
After some preliminary experiments more or less successful, he
then began to endeavour to obtain a full-sized hand-loom. What
he wanted was an old one of the old style, with hand-shuttle, &c,
such as formerly had been in traditional use at Spitalfields, but
had become by that time practically obsolete, save, it might be,
among the very oldest weavers of the place. The matter was
one in which, in default of an expert possessed of the necessary
qualifications among his own colleagues or employes, Morris was
obliged to turn to help from outside. It so happened he was
most unfortunate in respect of the several agents whom he
trusted, one after another, and employed to procure and set up a
loom for him. A series of disappointments caused so much
delay that it was not until towards the close of the seventies that,
a Jacquard loom having been erected in Ormond Yard, Morris
was enabled to organize weaving systematically as a branch of
the firm's work. From that time the industry grew, and was
carried on by the firm regularly without a break. At the present
time the looms are situated at Merton Abbey, and have been ever
since the works there came into the possession of Messrs. Morris
and Co. Morris drew a number of designs for silk damasks and
brocades and woven wool-tapestries, as well as a limited number
for fabrics of silk and linen and of silk and wool. The latter
combination, as in the case of the " Dove and Rose " material —
quite apart from the beauty of the design — has an additional
beauty of texture which is peculiarly delightful ; the weightier
substance of the wool drawing the slighter-bodied surface of the
silk into delicate ripples upon which the light plays with charm-
ing effect. The " Bird and Vine " is a beautiful and characteristic
design in woollen tapestry, while the " Peacock and Dragon," in
the same material, is a large pattern for which the artist himself
had a special liking. One more example may be selected, among
productions of a later date, viz., the diagonal woollen tapestry
named the " Trail." The unit of this pattern is as simple as can
be — a conventional leaf and a single spray of flowers ; yet the

richest effect is obtained by the simple but ingenious device of
varying the colour of the woof threads, so that the flowers appear
alternating horizontally in red, white, and pink. The general
colour of the web is a warm green in several tones.

At one time Morris attempted to revive the art of weaving
velvet with gold tissue, after the method of the superb and
famous webs of Florence and Venice in the fifteenth century. It
was an interesting experiment, and such that will in all proba-
bility prove to have been unique in England during the present
century. A loom was constructed especially for the purpose,
and an exquisite design by Morris was reproduced in blue, white,
and orange velvet pile, with gold thread interwoven in parts,
Morris assisting personally in the process of manufacture. But
it was found far too costly to be practical. Only a small quantity
of this most sumptuous material was ever woven, and the essay
was not repeated.

It was about the middle of the seventies when Morris, who
by that time had ceased to reside at Queen Square, happened
to be in want of some special shades of silk for embroidery. But
being unable to get what he needed by other means, he deter-
mined to start dyeing on his own account. Accordingly, the
scullery at No. 26, Queen Square, being fitted with coppers, was
chosen, rough and primitive as was the accommodation, for the
dyeing; while the kitchen was turned into a drying ground,
under the charge of the caretaker. From these small beginnings
sprang what developed subsequently into one of the most indis-
pensable of all the operations of the firm, to wit, that of dyeing,
" since upon it," to use Mr. Morris's own words, " is founded all
the ornamental character of textile fabrics." It was in fact the
necessity of obtaining a sufficient supply of water for this pur-
pose that induced Mr. Morris, when in treaty for some more
commodious place of manufacture than the Queen Square house
afforded, to decide upon the firm's present workshops on the
Wandle. Among the several alternatives possible, yet such
as would have involved the having to journey further afield,
Merton Abbey, being at a distance not exceeding nine miles from
London, presented the most convenient spot. Thither the pro-
cess of dyeing was transferred, and there it has been carried on
since the summer of 1881. The place had been used formerly for
dyeing, and tradition says that, in the time of a previous occupier,
Lord Nelson visited the works and was shown the various pro-
cesses of the craft.

Morris began by dyeing skeins of embroidery silk, and then
proceeded to dye wool for tapestry and carpets, in the manufacture

of which the firm use none other than their own dyed wool.
Morris himself went to Leek in order to improve his acquaint-
ance with the technicalities of the process under the guidance
of Mr. Thomas Wardle, the well-known expert and eminent
authority on the dyer's craft. And so, when Morris referred to
the subject in his lecture at the Health Exhibition in 1884, he
was entitled to remind his audience that he was " speaking as a
dyer, and not a scientific person ; " he spoke, that is, as one who
had had practical experience of the matters whereof he treated ;
in contradistinction to a theorist whose knowledge must be con-
fined within the limits of mere book-lore; or on the other hand to
an experimenting chemist. Indeed, as an artist, Morris felt very
strongly that the so-called improvements effected by chemical
science had proved in the highest degree disastrous to the craft
of dyeing. In his writings on the subject he enumerates the
successive additions that have been made to the repertory of dye-
stuffs in historical times, with a view to showing how that the
practice of primitive ages was materially identical with that of
later ages, and had in fact remained unspoilt during all the inter-
vening centuries down to quite recent days. " No change at all,"
says Morris, " befell the art either in the East or the North till
after the discovery of America ; this gave the dyers one new
material in itself good and one that was doubtful or bad. The
good one was the new insect dye, cochineal, which at first was
used only for dyeing crimson. . . . The bad new material was
log-wood, so fugitive a dye as to be quite worthless as a colour
by itself (as it was at first used) and to my mind of very little
use otherwise. No other new dye-stuff of importance was found
in America, although the discoverers came across such abund-
ance of red-dyeing wood growing there that a huge country of
South America has thence taken its name of Brazil." " About
the year 1656, ... a Dutch chemist discovered the secret of
getting a scarlet from cochineal " on a tin basis, " and so produced
a cheaper, brighter, and uglier scarlet, much to the satisfaction of
the civilized world." " In the last years of the eighteenth century
a worthless blue was invented. . . . About the same time a
rather valuable yellow dye (quercitron bark) was introduced
from America." Nothing else of moment occurred " up to the
time of the discovery of the process of Prussian blue dyeing in
about 1810, . . . which has cheapened and worsened black-dyeing
in so far as it has taken the place of the indigo vat as a basis."
" Now these novelties, the sum of which amounts to very little,
are all that make any difference between the practice of dyeing
under Rameses the Great and under Queen Victoria, till about

twenty years ago." (These words were published in 1882. A
few sentences from another work may best describe what befell
at the time indicated. The date, to be precise, was 1858.) " Then
came," says Morris, " one of the most wonderful and most use-
less of the inventions of modern chemistry, that of the dyes- made
from coal-tar, producing a series of hideous colours, crude, livid
— and cheap, — which every person of taste loathes, but which
nevertheless we can by no means get rid of until we are able to
struggle successfully against the doom of cheap and nasty which
has overtaken us." These newly-discovered methods, " from a
so-called commercial point of view, have been of the greatest
importance ; for they have, as the phrase goes, revolutionized
the art of dyeing. The dye-stuffs discovered by the indefatigable
genius of scientific chemists, which everyone has heard of under
the name of aniline colours, . . . are brighter and stronger in
colour than the old dyes . . . and, which is of course of the last
importance to the dyer, infinitely easier to use. No wonder,
therefore, that they have almost altogether supplanted the older
dyes, except in a few cases : surely the invention seems a
splendid one ! Well, it is only marred by one fact, that being an
invention for the benefit of an art whose very existence depends
upon its producing beauty, it is on the road, and far advanced on
it, towards destroying all beauty in the art. The fact is, that
every one of these colours is hideous in itself, whereas all the
old dyes are in themselves beautiful colours — only extreme per-
versity could make an ugly colour out of them. Under these
circumstances it must, I suppose, be considered a negative virtue
in the new dyes, that they are as fugitive as the older ones are
stable ; but even on that head I will ask you to note one thing
that condemns them finally, that whereas the old dyes when
fading, as all colours will do more or less, simply gradually
changed into paler tints of the same colour, and were not un-
pleasant to look on, the fading of the new dyes is a change into
all kinds of abominable and livid hues. I mention this because
otherwise it might be thought that a man with an artistic eye for
colour might so blend the hideous but bright aniline colours as to
produce at least something tolerable ; indeed, this is not unfre-
quently attempted to-day, but with small success, partly from
the reason above mentioned, partly because the hues so produced
by ' messing about,' as I should call it, have none of the quality or
character which the simpler drug gives naturally : all artists
will understand what I mean by this." Elsewhere, comparing
the two classes of dyes, Morris refers to pre-aniline colours as
follows : " As to the artistic value of these dye-stuffs, most of

73 u

which, together with the necessary mordant alumina, the world
discovered in early times (I mean early historical times), I must
tell you that they all make in their simplest forms beautiful
colours ; they need no muddling into artistic usefulness, when
you need your colours bright (as I hope you usually do), and
they can be modified and toned without dirtying, as the foul
blotches of the capitalist dyer cannot be. Like all dyes, they are
not eternal ; the sun in lighting them and beautifying them con-
sumes them ; yet gradually and for the most part kindly. . . .
These colours in fading still remain beautiful, and never, even
after long wear, pass into nothingness, through that stage of livid
ugliness which distinguishes the commercial dyes as nuisances,
even more than their short and by no means merry life." In fine,
"it is most true that the chemists of our day have made dis-
coveries almost past belief for their wonder ; they have given us
a set of colours which has made a new thing of the dyer's craft ;
commercial enterprise has eagerly seized on the gift, and yet,
unless all art is to disappear from our woven stuffs, we must turn
round and utterly and simply reject it." The above passage is
extracted from the lecture on " The Lesser Arts of Life." Morris
refers, in very similar terms, in his essay " Of Dyeing as an Art,"
to aniline dyes, which are " deduced," as he says, " by a long
process from the plants of the coal-measures. Of these dyes it
must be enough to say that their discovery, while conferring the
greatest honour on the abstract science of chemistry, and while
doing great service to capitalists in their hunt for profits, has
terribly injured the art of dyeing, and for the general public has
nearly destroyed it as an art. Henceforward there is an absolute
divorce between the commercial process and the art of dyeing. Any-
one wanting to produce dyed textiles with any artistic quality in
them must entirely forgo the modern and commercial methods in
favour of those which are at least as old as Pliny, who speaks of
them as being old in his time." After this it is scarcely necessary
to add that no aniline dyes are admitted, on any pretext, into the
vats of Messrs. Morris and Co.

" The art of dyeing, I am bound to say," writes Morris, who
was well qualified to express an opinion on the subject, " is a
difficult one, needing for its practice a good craftsman, with
plenty of experience. Matching a colour by means of it is an
agreeable but somewhat anxious game to play." In several
places he has left on record his own personal experiences in the
use of various dyes. Thus, in the lecture on "^Textile Fabrics,"
already quoted, he says of indigo that " as long as it keeps its
colour and nature," it " is insoluble and therefore unfit for dyeing ;

it has therefore to be turned into white indigo by means of deoxi-
dation, which is effected . . . chiefly by fermentation ; the white
indigo is then soluble by alkalies ; this deoxidation is called by
the dyers ' setting the vat ; ' and this setting by means of fermen-
tation, the oldest and best way, is a very ticklish job, and the
capacity of doing so indicates the past master in dyeing," though
perhaps it " seems an easy process " enough. The ancient blue
dye-stuff has at any rate one advantage, which, as Morris
points out, is of no little account : " I may note also that no tex-
tiles dyed blue or green, otherwise than by indigo, keep an
agreeable colour by candle-light : many quite bright greens
turning into sheer drab." Elsewhere Morris writes : " I myself
have dyed wool red," (which was to his mind " above all a dyer's
colour,") " by the selfsame process that the Mosaical dyers used.
... If I want for my own use some of the red dye above alluded
to, I must send to Argolis or Acharnania for it." And although
this "red insect dye, . . . called by the classical peoples coccus,
and by the Arabs Al kermes," shares " somewhat in the ill
qualities of madder for silk," — it is apt, that is, to take off the
gloss, and was for that reason never used for silk dyeing so
largely as were some other dyes, — Morris says, again, that he has
" dyed silk in kermes and got very beautiful and powerful results
by means of it. . . . Yellow dyes," he continues a little further
on, " are the commonest to be met with in nature, and our fields
and hedgerows bear plenty of greening-weeds, as our forefathers
called them, since they used them chiefly for greening blue
woollen cloth. ... Of these I have tried poplar and osier twigs,
which both gave a strong yellow, but the former not a very per-
manent one." These quotations must suffice. The whole sub-
ject of dyeing will be found dealt with both fully and clearly in
Morris's Arts and Crafts Essay.

From self-colour dyeing was but one step to pattern printing
on textile fabrics of velveteen, of cotton or linen. " The art of
dyeing," says Morris, " leads me naturally to the humble but
useful art of printing on cloth. . . . As to the craft among our-
selves, it has, as a matter of course, suffered grievously from the
degradation of dyeing, and this not only from the worsening of
the tints both in beauty and durability, but from a more intricate
cause. I have said that the older dyes were much more difficult
to use than the modern ones. The processes for getting a many-
coloured pattern on to a piece of cotton, even so short a while
back as when I was a boy, were many and difficult. As a rule,
this is done in fewer hours now than it was in days then. . . .
The natural and healthy difficulties of the old processes, all

connected as they were with the endeavour to make the colour
stable, drove any designer who had anything in him to making
his pattern peculiarly suitable to the whole art, and gave a
character to it — that character which you so easily recognize in
Indian palampores, or in the faded curtains of our grandmothers'
time, which still, in spite of many a summer's sun and many
and many a strenuous washing, retain at least their reds and
blues. In spite of the rudeness or the extravagance of these
things, we are always attracted towards them, and the chief
reason is, that we feel at once that there is something about the
designs natural to the craft, that they can be done only by the
practice of it ; a quality which, I must once more repeat, is a
necessity for all the designs of the lesser arts. But in the com-
paratively easy way in which these cloths are printed to-day " —
worst of all by means of the cylinder-machine — " there are no
special difficulties to stimulate the designer to invention ; he can
get any design done on his cloth ; the printer will make no
objections, so long as the pattern is the right size for his roller,
and has only the due number of colours. The result of all this is
ornament on the cotton, which might just as well have been
printed or drawn on paper, and in spite of any grace or clever-
ness in the design, it is found to look poor and tame and wiry.
That you will see clearly enough when someone has had a fancy
to imitate some of the generous and fertile patterns that were
once specially designed for the older cloths : it all comes to
nothing — it is dull, hard, unsympathetic. No ; there is nothing
for it but the trouble and the simplicity of the earlier craft, if you
are to have any beauty in cloth-printing at all. And if not, why
should we trouble to have a pattern of any sort on our cotton
cloths ? I for one am dead against it, unless the pattern is really
beautiful ; it is so very worthless if it is not."

Again, in the Arts and Crafts Essay on " Textiles," Morris
says : " The remarks made on the designs for mechanically
woven cloths apply pretty much to these printed stuffs : only, in
the first place, more play of delicate and pretty colour is possible,
and more variety of colour also ; and in the second, much more
use can be made of hatching and dotting, which are obviously
suitable to the method of block-printing. In the many-coloured
printed cloths, frank red and blue are again the mainstays of the
colour arrangement ; these colours, softened by the paler shades
of red, outlined with black and made more tender by the addition
of yellow in small quantities, mostly forming part of brightish
greens, make up the colouring of the old Persian prints, which
carry the art as far as it can be carried."

The above conditions which he lays down as requisites for
the craft Morris has indeed fulfilled abundantly in the number of
beautiful chintzes, cretonnes, and printed velveteens of which he
has been the author. He made designs for these materials long
before he was personally in a position to effect the production
of them. The firm's earliest blocks for the purpose of pattern-
printing on textiles were cut by Mr. Clarkson, then of Coventry
Street, who also cut a roller, to their order, for stamped velvet,
when the firm had been in existence about ten years. By him
also, at the beginning, was undertaken the printing of chintzes,
&c, for the firm. Later on this department of their work was
carried out on behalf of Messrs. Morris and Co. by Mr. Wardle
of Leek. But eventually when Morris acquired possession of
the works at Merton he was able to carry on all these processes
on his own premises. Of Morris cretonnes and chintzes the
" Bird and Anemone," in a single print, and one in many colours,
the " Strawberry Thief," a favourite pattern of the artist's own,
may well compare as illustrating the variant treatment of orna-
ment in which bird forms are introduced. The first is a simple
repeat, while the second is constructed on the basis of a doubled
pattern. The " Honeysuckle " is an exquisite combination of
somewhat naturalistic with thoroughly conventional forms ; a
task that is by no means easy of achievement. The " Wandle "
design is composed entirely of conventional forms. With its
large peony-like rosettes breaking, at regular intervals, the
course of the pronounced diagonal band which forms the chief
feature ; its intervening spaces filled with a profusion of flowers
relieved against a background of deep blue, which again is varied
by a sort of delicate underprinting in white, this is one of the
richest designs imaginable. It is a marvel that a fabric, so poor
by comparison, should admit of a decorative effect so splendid
as this.

It is about ten or twelve years since pattern-printing on
white velveteen was first attempted by Morris and Co., a branch
in which their productions have hitherto proved to be unrivalled
— the designs, of course, being Morris's and such as no hand but
his could produce. Of these the " Acanthus," though early in
point of date, has hardly been surpassed for simple dignity by
later designs ; while the " Florence " and the " Cherwell " are
both admirable and well adapted, as patterns, for the particular
material. There is one, however, than which it is impossible to
conceive anything more splendid of its kind. It is known as the
" Severn," and is printed on white velveteen ; yellowish brown
dots, closely powdered upon the surface, forming a background

77 x

against which the main features of the design, large conventional
flowers and acanthus foliage, outlined in brown, stand out white
and clear. Together with these, light green leaves and rose-red
tulips make up the most delicate harmony of colours. The same
design is printed on a cotton cloth, but the difference of texture
is such that the two fabrics cannot well be compared with one
another.

To the art of embroidery, as has been pointed out in a
previous chapter, Mr. Morris gave his attention right early.
" Of the design for " this branch of work he writes, " it must be
said that one of its aims should be the exhibition of beautiful
material. Furthermore it is not worth doing unless it is either
very copious and rich, or very delicate — or both. For such an
art nothing patchy or scrappy, or half-starved, should be done :
there is no excuse for doing anything which is not strikingly
beautiful. ... It may be well here to warn those occupied in
embroidery against the feeble imitations of Japanese art which
are so disastrously common amongst us. The Japanese are
admirable naturalists, wonderfully skilful draughtsmen, deft
beyond all others in mere execution of whatever they take in
hand ; and also great masters of style within certain narrow
limitations. But with all this a Japanese design is absolutely
worthless unless it is executed with Japanese skill. In truth,
with all their brilliant qualities as handicraftsmen, which have
so dazzled us, the Japanese have no architectural, and therefore
no decorative, instinct. Their works of art are isolated and
blankly individualistic, and in consequence, unless where they
rise, as they sometimes do, to the dignity of a suggestion for a
picture (always devoid of human interest), they remain mere
wonderful toys, things quite outside the pale of the evolution of
art, which, I repeat, cannot be carried on without the architec-
tural sense that connects it with the history of mankind." It
may be permitted to interpolate here some further remarks of
Morris's, bearing as they do upon the same subject. " It is true,"
so he says in the lecture on "The Lesser Arts of Life," "that
these non-architectural races (let the Chinese stand as a type of
them) have no general mastery over the arts, and seem to play
with them rather than to try to put their souls into them.
Clumsy-handed as the European or Aryan workman is (of a
good period, I mean) as compared with his Turanian fellow,
there is a seriousness and depth of feeling which, when brought
to bear upon the matter of our daily life, is in fact the soul of
Architecture, whatever the body may be ; so that I shall still say
that among ourselves, the men of modern Europe, the existence

of the other arts is bound up with that of Architecture." And
again, speaking of certain properties of Chinese work, Morris
says, " They were indeed valuable qualities in the hands of a
Chinaman, deft as he was of execution, fertile of design, fanciful
though not imaginative ; in short, a born maker of pretty toys ;
but such daintinesses were of little avail to a good workman of
our race, — . . . he had other work to do . . . than the making of
toys." The last features to be looked for, then, in Morris orna-
ment for embroidery, or indeed any other craft, are those which
characterize either Chinese or Japanese designs. Thus for
instance the employment of gold thread is almost unknown in
Morris's embroideries. Whereas the capabilities of needlework
done while held in the hand, as distinct from that executed while
stretched in a frame, have been developed to a high degree of
perfection. In particular very beautiful effects have been ob-
tained by means of darning stitch in twist silks upon special
hand-woven cotton and linen cloths, the entire surface of the
material being covered with solid embroidery. As to the colours
used it is needless to say that they display to utmost advantage
the rich and harmonious combinations which distinguish the
style of Morris. It should be noted beside that the accidental
irregularities of the dyeing, which rarely produces absolute
uniformity of tint throughout, imparts to the Morris embroidery-
silks additional charm and variety of effect.

William Morris allowed the use of some of his designs to the
Royal School of Art Needlework in Exhibition Road, Kensington,
with whose aims and objects, from the time of its foundation in
1872, he was naturally in sympathy. A bed-hanging from his
design was worked in the school for the Honourable Mrs. Percy
Wyndham. In the " Handbook of Embroidery," by L. Higgin,
edited by Lady Marian Alford, and published by authority of the
School of Art Needlework in 1880, were reproduced three Morris
designs, viz., two diapers for embroidered wall-hangings (one of
them, with honeysuckle and other flowers, being printed in
colours), and thirdly a border, an adaptation of the same motif as
the " Marigold " pattern in wall-paper. These instances however
are exceptions. The majority of Morris's embroidery designs
remain the property of the firm and are executed through the
department of which his daughter, Miss May Morris (Mrs.
Sparling), has for some years past been in charge. This lady is
not only an excellent worker and teacher of embroidery, but also
herself of unusual talents as a designer. The amount of
embroidery undertaken by the firm for ecclesiastical purposes is
insignificant : the greater portion consisting of domestic work in

the shape of curtains, table-cloths, squares for cushions, and some
smaller articles. Although a catalogue of names is powerless to
convey any idea of the description or beauty of Morris needle-
work, the " Tulip and Rose," " Olive and Rose," " Rose Wreath,"
" Vine and Pink " and " Flower-pot " patterns by William Morris
for embroidered cushion-covers ; as also his splendid curtain
executed in coloured silks upon a background of yellowish green
linen — all of them shown at one or other of the Arts and Crafts
Exhibitions in London — may be mentioned as especially fine and
characteristic examples of his designs for embroidery.

The record-roll of the domestic arts taken up by William
Morris's firm would not have been complete without that of
carpet-making. The earliest of Morris's designs for this craft
was for Kidderminster carpet. It was a very simple one, called
the " Grass pattern," and was followed by the " Lily," a small
pattern again, comprised of lilies and fritillaries, arranged upon
the scale principle, with a narrow border of chevrons when it
was intended to serve as a stair-carpet. There being no means
of executing these carpets upon the premises, they had to be
woven elsewhere for Messrs. Morris and Co. It happened that
the designs were not registered, and one of them, the " Lily," was
appropriated by an unscrupulous manufacturer, who produced it
on his own account, after having made some minute alteration
in it by leaving out part of the ply. The manufacturer, when
confronted with Mr. Morris, owned that he could not rebut the
charge ; and there the matter ended, to obtain redress being out
of the question. Wilton and Axminster and, latterly, Brussels
carpets have in turn been designed by Morris and executed on
behalf of the firm. It goes without saying that these are all of
the best quality— indeed Morris would not have been satisfied
with anything less— as regards material ; and as for design they
are not a whit below Morris's high standard in other wares. They
are both pleasant to look at and in every way suited to their
purpose. But it was not any such kinds of carpets as these that
Morris had in mind when writing or speaking of the art of carpet-
weaving. By the latter he meant, to use his own words, " the
real thing, such as the East has furnished us with from time
immemorial, and not the makeshift imitation woven by means of
the Jacquard loom, or otherwise mechanically." This is what,
elsewhere, he says on the same subject : " Carpet- weaving is
somewhat of the nature of tapestry : it also is wholly unmecha-
nical. . . . Carpets form a mosaic of small squares of worsted, or
hair, or silk threads, tied into a coarse canvas, which is made as
the work progresses. Owing to the comparative coarseness of

the work, the designs should always be very elementary in form,
and suggestive merely of forms of leafage, flowers, beasts and birds,
&c. The soft gradations of tint to which tapestry lends itself are
unfit for carpet-weaving ; beauty and variety of colour must be
attained by harmonious juxtaposition of tints, bounded by judi-
ciously chosen outlines ; and the pattern should lie absolutely flat
upon the ground. On the whole, in designing carpets the method
of contrast is the best one to employ, and blue and red, quite
frankly used, with white or very light outlines on a dark ground,
and black or some very dark colour on a light ground, are the
main colours on which the designer should depend. In making
the above remarks I have been thinking only of the genuine or
hand-made carpets. The mechanically-made carpets of to-day
must be looked upon as makeshifts for cheapness' sake. . . .
The velvet carpets need the same kind of design as to colour and
quality as the real carpets ; only, as the colours are necessarily
limited in number, and the pattern must repeat at certain dis-
tances, the design should be simpler and smaller than in a real
carpet. A Kidderminster carpet calls for a small design in which
the different planes, or plies, as they are called, are well inter-
locked." In another place, speaking of old Persian carpets,
Morris describes one class of them as having been " designed on
scientific principles which any good designer can apply to works
of our own day without burdening his conscience with the charge
of plagiarism." And as for the other class of ancient carpets,
with Persian floral designs, he says, " These, beautiful as they
are in colour, are as far as possible from lacking form in design ;
they are fertile of imagination and rich in drawing ; and though
imitation of them would carry with it its usual disastrous conse-
quences, they show us the way to set about designing such like
things, and that a carpet can be made which by no means
depends for its success on the mere instinct of colour." Again,
" To us pattern designers," says Morris, " Persia has become a
holy land, for there in the process of time our art was perfected,
and thence above all places it spread to cover for a while the
world, east and west." He would commend " the designers of
time past . . . and the usefulness of the lives of these men . . .
whose names are long forgotten, but whose works we still wonder
at. In their own way they meant to tell us how the flowers grew
in the gardens of Damascus, or how the hunt was up on the plains
of Kirman, or how the tulips shone among the grass in the
Mid-Persian valley, and how their souls delighted in it all, and
what joy they had in life ; nor did they fail to make their meaning
clear to some of us." So much for the past. But the future of

81 Y

Eastern art had only gloomy prospects for him. He could not
sufficiently deplore the action of the Government in " manufactur-
ing cheap Indian carpets in the Indian gaols. ... In this case,
the Government . . . has determined that it will make its wares
cheap, whether it make them nasty or not. Cheap and nasty they
are, I assure you ; but, though they are the worst of their kind,
they would not be made thus, if everything did not tend the same
■way. And it is the same everywhere and with all Indian manu-
factures. ... In short, their art is dead, and the commerce of
modern civilization has slain it. What is going on in India is
also going on, more or less, all over the East ; but I have spoken
of India chiefly because I cannot help thinking that we ourselves
are responsible for what is happening there." " Withal," wrote
Morris in another place, " one thing seems certain, that if we
don't set to work making our own carpets it will not be long
before we shall find the East fail us : for that last gift, the gift of
the sense of harmonious colour, is speedily dying out in the East
before the conquests of European rifles and money-bags."

Stirred, then, by some such apprehensions as are expressed
by him in the foregoing passages, and at the same time conscious,
no doubt, of his own personal fitness, before all others, for the task,
William Morris formed the fixed determination to rescue, by his
own effort, the perishing art of carpet-weaving. He began
accordingly to make a systematic study of an antique Persian
carpet, examining and analysing its every detail, until at length
he had mastered the method of construction to the extent of being
able to start weaving in the same manner with his own hands.
Thus, from his own designs and with his own dyed wool, a
certain quantity of pile-carpet squares were produced, under the
immediate direction of his helping hand, in a loom set up in the
back attic at Queen Square. But ere long the industry outgrew
these narrow bounds, and was transferred to the coach-house
adjoining Morris's house at Hammersmith, where looms were
set up and a certain number of women were employed in the
weaving. Thence it was that these splendid pile fabrics of
Morris and Co.'s came by the name of " Hammersmith " carpets,
by which they are now always known. In some instances the
device of a hammer, in allusion to the place of manufacture, was
woven into the borders of the carpets. In this connection it may
be mentioned by the way that no other formal trademark was
adopted by the firm ; unless indeed one excepts the device of two
doves, flying together somewhat in the attitude of the swallows
on willow pattern china, — a badge which was designed by Madox
Brown and was in use by the original company in the early

period of their career. From Hammersmith the carpet-weaving
was moved to Merton Abbey, where it is now carried on, and
constitutes not the least flourishing industry of the firm.

In the matter of carpets, no less than in that of every other
craft taken in hand by Morris, his own words provide the best
commentary that could be found ; since his own productions do
not fail to satisfy the most stringent canons which he formulated
for the right conduct of the art. And his carpet-making furnishes
a very excellent case in point. Here was a craft with definite
limitations such as might on no account be ignored nor over-
stepped ; a craft moreover which had already on its native soil
been carried to what anyone might have assumed to be the goal
of its highest attainable perfection. Its former glories had long
since passed away, and yet Morris undertook to resuscitate it,
nor was daunted by the magnitude of the task. Notwithstanding
that to manufacture carpets for modern folk living in modern
dwellings did not seem to afford much scope for the employment
of the artistic faculty, Morris embarked upon the enterprise.
By applying in present day carpet-making those principles that
diligent research had discovered to him -were they which
governed the practice of the art at its zenith, he proved it to be
capable of yet further development, and more beautiful, than it
had undergone for centuries. Those who visited the Arts and
Crafts Exhibition of 1893 will recall the magnificent pile carpet
exhibited by Messrs. Morris and Co., which was the principal
object in the West Gallery there. It was designed by Morris and
manufactured specially for Mr. Sanderson at Buller's Wood —
whence its name. This carpet does not come under the head of
those more common and rudimentary patterns referred to in the
lecture of Morris's above quoted. On the contrary, it belongs to
the more elaborate and complex order. It is not copied, of course,
from oriental work, but evolved rather out of the English artist's
brilliant powers of invention. At the same time it is such that
no Persian handicraftsman in the palmiest days of the carpet-
weaving art need have been ashamed of, if but he had been
entitled to claim it as his own.

Allied to carpet-craft is " the noblest of the weaving arts," to
wit, that of tapestry, known under the specific name of Arras.
The conditions of carpet and tapestry weaving are alike, and
such that entail a very similar mode of execution, similar material
and similar apparatus. The latter is simplicity itself. In fact,
neither industry is one which demands "the help of anything that
can fairly be called machine : little more is needed than a frame
which will support heavy beams on which we may strain our

warp : our work is purely hand-work — we may do what we will
according to the fineness of our warp." Tapestry making "re-
quires but a very small amount of technical, though often much
artistic, skill." The purpose of the craft is the production of
" what may fairly be called woven pictures ; webs whose elabora-
tion and want of repetition of pattern would scarcely allow of any
reasonable effect being produced by mere mechanical weaving."
In the Arts and Crafts Essay on " Textiles " is Morris's descrip-
tion of the art as it should be : " It may be looked upon," he says,
" as a mosaic of pieces of colour made up of dyed threads, and is
capable of producing wall ornament of any degree of elaboration
within the proper limits of duly considered decorative work. As
in all wall-decoration, the first thing to be considered in the
designing of Tapestry is the force, purity and elegance of the
silhouette of the objects represented, and nothing vague or indeter-
minate is admissible. But special excellences can be expected
from it. Depth of tone, richness of colour, and exquisite grada-
tions of tints are easily to be obtained in tapestry ; and it also
demands that crispness and abundance of beautiful detail which
was the especial characteristic of fully developed Mediaeval Art."
The method of weaving which William Morris proposed to
revive was the traditional one, the same which survives to this
day at the Gobelins factory, viz., that of the vertical loom, or
haute lisse as it is called to distinguish it from the basse lisse, or
horizontal loom, where the weaver looks down upon the face of
the web as he works ; whereas in the case of the high warp loom
the weaver is seated at the back and can only see the front of the
web by looking through the warp threads at its reflection in a
mirror. This system of weaving is demonstrated in the model of
a haute lisse tapestry loom which Mr. Morris gave to the South
Kensington Museum in 1893 (Catalogue number 156). At the
time when it occurred to him to start hand-weaving according to
the ancient plan, it was a thing extinct in this country. In fact
the last work of the kind in England was the industry which had
been carried on at Mortlake and which was stopped by the
Protector Cromwell. Thus there was no working model at hand
to which Morris could refer for practical illustration of the method
of weaving. It is true that the other system had been inaugurated
by the opening of the Royal Tapestry Works at Windsor, as
Morris showed in his lecture on " The Lesser Arts of Life,"
wherein he remarked : " I am sorry to have to say that an
attempt to set the art going, which has been made, doubtless
with the best intentions, under royal patronage at Windsor,
within the last few years, has most unluckily gone on the lines

of the work at the Gobelins, and if it does not change its system
utterly, is doomed to artistic failure, whatever its commercial
success may be." The prediction was fulfilled only too surely.
The Windsor tapestry factory did not manage to attract the
custom of the public by means of the landscapes and other realistic
representations which it produced, and a few years ago the estab-
lishment was definitely closed, the plant sold, and the staff of
workers disbanded. Nor was there much to be learnt elsewhere.
For, as to the craft in France at the present day, its " poor
remains" lie " in that mud of degradation " into which they were
dragged by " the establishment of that hatching nest of stupidity,
the Gobelins," which changed tapestry weaving, from having
been " a fine art " and a noble, into a mere " upholsterer's toy."
" If you are curious on the subject of its technique you may see
that going on as in its earlier, or let us say real, life at the
Gobelins at Paris ; but it is a melancholy sight : the workmen
are as handy at it as only Frenchmen can be at such work, and
their skill is traditional too, I have heard ; for they are the sons,
grandsons, and great-grandsons of tapestry- weavers. Well, their
ingenuity is put to the greatest pains for the least results : it
would be a mild word to say that what they make is worthless ;
it is more than that ; it has a corrupting and deadening influence
upon all the Lesser Arts of France, since it is always put forward
as the very standard and crown of all that those arts can do at
the best : a more idiotic waste of human labour and skill it is
impossible to conceive. There is another branch of the same
stupidity, differing slightly in technique, at Beauvais ; and the
little town of Aubusson in mid-France has a decaying commer-
cial industry of the like rubbish." Thus Morris felt constrained
to refer to the art of tapestry as something that " must be spoken
of in the past tense." And moreover he deemed it necessary to
apologize to his audience for addressing them at any length on
so ineffectual a subject as an art which had " practically perished."
At the same time, " There is nothing whatever," he urged, " to
prevent us from reviving it if we please, since the technique of it
is easy to the last degree." These words appeared in 1882.
Already by that date Morris had achieved somewhat in the
direction of the revival he advocated. In default of any existing
instance available where the actual weaving process might be
observed, Morris had had to pick up the details of the craft, as
best he might, from an old French official handbook, published
prior to the Revolution. He caused a handloom to be set up in
his bedroom at Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, and, so as not
to let this new undertaking of his interfere with his ordinary

85 z

occupations, he used to rise betimes and practise weaving in the
early hours of the morning. By following out the instructions
he gathered from his printed guide, Morris gradually overcame
the difficulties of the craft and became a proficient weaver him-
self. With his own hand he wove a beautiful piece of tapestry,
designed by himself with birds and foliage, for a private gift. In
one or two respects he even improved upon the instructions given
in the French book. For example, the plan therein recommended
for marking on the warp threads the design to be woven was to
use charcoal. But experience showed Morris that this method
was inadequate, because the charcoal, in the process of working,
quickly got rubbed off, before the outline of the pattern had stood
long enough to be carried into execution. Accordingly, with the
aid of Mr. Campfield, he devised a more permanent means of
fixing the outline, by holding a brush, dipped in Indian ink, to
the warp thread at the point required, and then twirling the
thread round between the finger and thumb so as to mark it
thoroughly and thus avoid the risk of obliteration. In his earliest
experiments in weaving, conducted, on behalf of the firm, as far
back as the year 1878, Mr. Morris had the assistance of Mr. H.
Dearie, to whom he imparted what he himself had learned of the
art. Their first efforts were confined to floral designs, with the
occasional introduction of birds into the composition. The first
time that figure-weaving was attempted was at Merton in 1881,
the subject being the " Goose Girl," from a cartoon by Mr. Walter
Crane. Thenceforward, with one exception, the figures were
always designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Among the
earlier tapestries of the firm of Morris and Co. were two of the
type known by the technical name of " Verdura ; " both shown at
the Exhibition of Arts and Crafts in 1888. One of them, an up-
right panel, designed by W. Morris, is an admirable instance of
the adaptability of his bold, sweeping leaf-scrolls to this kind of
work. It is called " The Woodpecker," after the main incident
depicted in it, and is ornamented above and below with ribbon-
scrolls bearing verses from the pen of Mr. Morris — verses
included in the collection of " Poems by the Way." The other
is a horizontal panel, woven for Mr. Alexander Ionides. It is
named " The Forest." The foliage and flowers were designed
by Mr. Morris and Mr. Dearie respectively, but the animals
introduced into the composition — a lion and a fox — were from
cartoons by Mr. Philip Webb. These however, being in the
latter's wonted zoological style, do not seem quite in keeping
with their severely conventional surroundings. Designs in which
the contrary elements of realism and decoration are combined in

so marked a way as this seldom produce satisfactory effects.
More commonly a loss of organic unity is the result. In the
particular case in point one cannot help deploring the fact, and
feeling that a far more harmonious effect would have been
obtained had the whole of this tapestry been designed by
William Morris alone, or at any rate by none other than those
who, by training, have acquired his ornamental manner. In the
two tapestry panels entitled " Flora " and " Pomona," each with
an allegorical figure designed by Burne-Jones, very similar
"verdura" backgrounds occur; rabbits and birds being intro-
duced in the " Flora " panel with excellent effect amid the
flowers and wreathing acanthus foliage. Either panel has
scrolls with two quatrains, written by Morris and published in
" Poems by the Way " in 1891.

Messrs. Morris and Co.'s first large figure-subject tapestry,
and perhaps also their best known work of this kind, was " The
Star of Bethlehem " panel, designed by Burne-Jones for Exeter
College Chapel at Oxford, and completed in April, 1890. It was
but fitting that the two friends should have the opportunity to
unite together thus in the beautifying of their old college. Un-
fortunately this splendid piece of tapestry, the joint product of
Morris and Burne-Jones, is ill-shown in the position in which it
is fixed, against the south wall of the edifice : and yet it is a
veritable treasure and deserves to be made more of than it is,
since — alas, that it should have to be said ! — it is the only artistic
object in the chapel that enshrines it. The new building is
indeed such that could not possibly commend itself to Mr.
Morris, who always regretted the disappearance of the plain
old building that stood in its place in his undergraduate days.
How much beauty of decorative detail in " The Star of Beth-
lehem " tapestry was due to Morris and Co. may be perceived by
comparison of their woven panel with Burne-Jones's drawing as
brought to its final state in 1891. The discrepancies in the two
versions represent the amount that the artist in his cartoon
left blank for Morris and Co. to fill in before they executed it in
arras ; these very parts being supplied eventually by Burne-
Jones with ornaments of an entirely different design. The
lilies, irises, tulips, borage, heartsease, and other fl owers in the
foreground of the tapestry were indicated but slightly and
sketchily in the original, and all of them had to be drawn afresh
in definite shape by Morris and Co., as were also the patterns on
the draperies, the jewellery, &c. The firm was called upon twice
subsequently to produce replicas of " The Star of Bethlehem,"
one of them being a commission from Mr. Wilfrid Scawen Blunt.

In one single instance, and that a notable one for the very
reason that he did so, Mr. Morris provided a set of four figures
from drawings by his own hand, to be reproduced in Arras
tapestry, which was shown at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition of
1893. These, by the way, were the same figures which he had
designed in the first instance for the roof of Jesus College Chapel,
Cambridge. Only, whereas the angels in the original decoration
hold in their hands a scroll inscribed with the words of an
ancient hymn, in the latter case the figures display, in place of
the hymn, some verses from the pen of William Morris, beginning,
" Midst bitten mead and acre shorn," &c, and published under
the title-heading of " The Orchard " in " Poems by the Way."
This specimen (apart from the figures, which, contrary to his
wont, as has been shown, Morris designed himself,) may serve
as a typical example of how, among the several persons partici-
pating in the execution of any given piece of tapestry at Merton
Abbey works, each one's share was apportioned. The fruit-trees
in the background were designed by Mr. Morris ; the flowers in
the foreground by Mr. Dearie ; and the diapers and minor details
of the ornament by those whose hands were engaged in the
actual weaving.

The Morris window in Salisbury Cathedral, designed by
Burne-Jones and representing groups of ministering and praising
angels, has been mentioned already. The identical figures have
since been adapted, in subdued blues and reds, with a dull but
rich-coloured background of foliage and flowers, with borders,
&c, and worked out in two panels of Arras tapestry by Messrs.
Morris and Co. ; and that with results so fine that the disquieting
question perforce suggests itself whether these cartoons are not
more appropriate to the latter medium. In that event it follows
—does it not ? — that they are scarcely in the best manner of
design for stained glass too. Had the lead-glazing and the con-
sequent subdivision of surface been, as they ought, an integral
part of the original conception, it must have been a literal
impossibility to convert the cartoons, by the omission of their lead
lines or by any other means, into proper designs for tapestry
treatment. Lest there should be any doubt about it, take an
instance of stained glass as it is seen at its perfection of maturity
in the fifteenth century, say in the ante-chapel of New College,
Oxford, or of All Souls' ; at Thornhill Church, Yorkshire, or at
Fairford : imagine a window from any one of these places drawn
out upon paper and then executed in arras in the loom. The thing
is preposterous ! The very character and conditions which go to
make the excellence of a design for one branch of art work,

almost necessarily disqualify the same design from being carried
out in any other form ; the measure of its fitness for the one
being in inverse ratio to its fitness for the other. And if this rule
be such as holds good generally, even in respect of arts which are
nearly akin to one another; how much more forcibly does it
apply in the case of two so diverse as glass painting and tapestry
weaving! The principle, after all, is one which Morris himself
has laid down and emphasized again and again in his own
writings and public utterances. However, since tapestry is of
the nature of woven picture-work, paintings certainly lend them-
selves, of all branches of art, to more legitimate adaptations than
any other for this material. Thus the figures painted at Jesus
College, when, years afterwards, they were modified and intro-
duced into a tapestry hanging, did not seem to have suffered in
the process, nor to be in any way out of keeping with the compo-
sition. On the other hand, there can be little disputing that " The
Star of Bethlehem," designed as it was ab initio for tapestry, is
far more satisfactory in that medium even than when worked
up from the cartoon into the form of the large water-colour
picture commissioned by the directors of the Municipal Art
Gallery at Birmingham. Another and a later work of the class
of adaptations in tapestry, to wit, a copy of Sandro Botticelli's
" Primavera," cannot claim to be particularly happy in effect. It
was exhibited at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1896. For the
choice of subject it may not indeed be fair to hold Mr. Morris
responsible, since the tapestry was woven specially to the order
of Mr. Blunt. Of this panel Miss Mabel Cox, in " The Artist,"
remarks : " The colouring is especially good, the faded tones of
the old colours being reproduced without any loss of the rich
glow. To do this is to encounter no small difficulty, considering
the material under command." The same writer, while pro-
nouncing that the subject " is certainly a good design for tapes-
try," is obliged to admit that " it is by no means certain, however,
that lovers of Botticelli's masterpiece will be pleased to see it in
its new form."

Of Morris and Co.'s tapestry the most important work
altogether, and one that may justly be described as monumental,
is that executed from Sir Edward Burne-Jones's designs for the
dining-room at Stanmore Hall. The scheme of this decoration is
to illustrate the Arthurian romance, more particularly that part
of the legend which deals with the quest of the San-Graal. The
main division consists of a series of figure subject panels. Their
height is uniformly eight feet, but they vary in width according
to the dimensions of the several spaces they have to fill round

89 A A

the room. Of these panels it will suffice to describe one, which,
though neither the largest nor the most conspicuous, is yet, in
point of beauty, second to none in the set. The subject is " The
Failure of Sir Lancelot." It contains but two figures. In the
foreground Sir Lancelot is represented lying asleep, his back
leaning against the stone side of a water-cistern, his feet point-
ing to the door, shut against him and guarded by an angel-warder
of the Temple of the Holy Grail. The angel's wings, blue as the
depths of a sapphire, harmonize with the paler blue of his sleeves ;
while his white and yellow brocaded robe contrasts with the rich
crimson surcoat of the mailed knight, whose limbs are encased
partly in plate, partly in chain, armour. The execution of the
latter must have needed almost as much technical skill as do
human features. In this case the difficulty was greatly enhanced
by the fact that the whole composition is in a subdued tone of
colour, with beams of strong light streaming through the chinks
of the door and glinting, where they fall, upon armour and blades
of grass. A masterly reserve together with the utmost delicacy
of treatment were required to save a scene treated in such a
manner as this from degenerating into melodrama. But the feat
has been accomplished nevertheless. Other panels depict " The
arrival of Sir Galahad to take his place in the Siege Perilous,"
" The Knights departing on the Quest," " The Failure of Sir
Gawaine," " The Vision of the Holy Grail," and, what is really a
part of the last subject, a ship riding at anchor at a short distance
from the shore which, strewn with shells and overgrown with
tufts of coarse grass, occupies the foreground.

The panels which form the upper and principal division of
the Stanmore Hall tapestries are woven separately from the
lower part, which runs beneath in the form of a detached band
nearly five feet deep. Along the top of this dado is a scroll, with
a legend giving a brief explanation of the particular subject which
is represented immediately above. Below the scroll is repre-
sented a deer-haunted thicket, upon the branches of which are
hung the escutcheons of the Knights of the Round Table, all
with their proper heraldic charges. The different pieces of
tapestry which compose this magnificent set were placed in situ
severally, as they were finished ; the entire work from first to
last occupying between three and four years to complete.

In the various specimens of tapestry woven by Messrs.
Morris and Co. the same texture is not to be found in every case.
Thus, for bold effects a thicker wool was used, which required
fewer stitches in a given space, and entailed therefore less work
proportionately than the finer specimens. At one time the firm

endeavoured to obtain in the coarser tapestries a better finish in
the faces, and so on, by introducing in those parts a greater
number of warp threads and using a finer wool, but, the result
not proving satisfactory, the attempt was not renewed. For the
Stanmore series, notwithstanding their large scale, a moderately
fine web was decided upon, of a uniform texture, i.e., the warp
threads sixteen to the inch throughout. Questioned with regard
to the latter work by a representative of " The Daily Chronicle,"
Mr. Morris explained that one of the larger panels, the same that
was exhibited at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1893, had taken
two years to weave. It was the handiwork of three persons, as
many that is as could sit comfortably side by side across the
warp. " The people who made it — and this is by far the most
interesting thing about it — are boys, at least they are grown up
by this time — entirely trained in our own shop. It is really free-
hand work, remember, not slavishly copying a pattern, like the
' basse lisse ' method ; and they came to us with no knowledge of
drawing whatever, and have learnt every single thing they know
under our training. And most beautifully they have done it ! I
don't think you could want a better example than this of the value
of apprenticeship. Our superintendent, Mr. Dearie, has of course
been closely watching the work all the time, and perhaps he has
put in a few bits, like the hands and the faces, with his own
hands ; but with this exception every bit has been done by these
boys."

In the case of the tapestry designed by Sir Edward Burne-
Jones, it was not that artist's usual custom to supply full-size
working cartoons. His original drawings for the Stanmore series
are not above fifteen inches high. He prepared these compositions
from studies of figures and groups drawn with his wonted care ;
but, for the rest, there was little else beyond slight colour-tinting
to serve as guide in the execution of the work. Such being the
condition in which the designs came into Messrs. Morris and Co.'s
hands, it was necessary for each of these drawings to be enlarged
by photography, in squares varying in size and number according
to the full dimensions required. These enlarged sections were
then fitted together, and the whole, now of the proper size, sub-
mitted, together with a small coloured sketch showing the scheme
of colouring proposed by the firm, to the designer for his approval
or revision. On these enlargements Burne-Jones confined him-
self, for the most part, to working up the heads and hands ; pre-
ferringto leave the ornamental accessories, the patterns of brocades
on the draperies, the flowers, etc., to Messrs. Morris and Co., on
whose behalf they were generally undertaken by Mr. Dearie, who

has been associated with Mr. Morris in the work for many years
past. Over and above Mr. Dearie's share in the matter, consider-
able latitude in the choice and arrangement of tints in shading,
&c, was, and is, invariably allowed to the executants themselves,
who are, in fact, both by nature and training, artists and no mere
animated machines. All three of the tapestry looms at Merton
are constructed on the high warp system, that being the method
of hand-weaving which Mr. Morris approved, and the only one,
therefore, which he cared to revive.

One of the vicissitudes of the firm was a fire which occurred
in October, 1877, caused, as it was believed, through the igniting
of a beam in a chimney of the house at Queen Square, the result
being that the back premises were gutted and much valuable
property belonging to the firm destroyed, to say nothing of the
dislocation of business or of the disorder and inconvenience
unavoidable during the rebuilding. The loss included the stock
of linoleum then ready for use and lying stored up in that part of
the building which was burnt. No branch of decoration, however
humble and commonplace, came amiss to William Morris. He
designed and caused to be carried out two patterns for linoleum,
that useful form of floor-covering which is commonly not to be
obtained except of such fashion that a great many persons are
deterred from using it. For is it not next to impossible for any-
one of taste to put up with the vicious counterfeits of parquetry,
encaustic tiles, mosaic, Chinese matting, Brussels carpet, Berlin
wool-work, and such like, which comprise the more part of com-
mercial patterns in oil-cloths, linoleums, &c. ? Morris was clearly
of that opinion when he undertook to design for this material.

Messrs. Morris and Co.'s furniture was not of William Morris's
own design, flat ornament being essentially his mdtier. Long before
the business of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. was started,
Madox Brown had been designing furniture, and in that capacity
had had the mortification of being refused a place in the exhibitions
of the old Hogarth Club, because, forsooth, his designs were not,
in the eyes of the committee, to be regarded as " fine art proper."
When, however, the firm, largely owing to his instrumentality,
had come into existence, both Madox Brown and Rossetti, too,
supplied a certain number of designs for furniture. A larger
quantity were provided by Mr. Webb ; and, still more recently,
Mr. George Jack, a pupil of Mr. Webb's, designed furniture for the
firm. Morris used to regret the decay of the art of carving at the
present day, and the consequent difficulty of obtaining suitable
carving for the ornamentation of furniture, &c. However, that of
Mr. Jack supplies some admirable examples, while other furniture

of the firm is decorated with inlay or painted ornament of good
design in a style to harmonize with Morris fabrics. In the early
days the cabinet-making and carpentry were carried on in the
workshop belonging to the firm in Ormond Yard. Quite lately
they purchased the business of Messrs. Holland and Son, in whose
former premises all the cabinet-work, &c, on the part of Messrs.
Morris and Co. is now executed.

The firm since their foundation have undertaken in whole or
in part the furnishing and decorating of a large number of private
houses ; as, for instance, the Old Swan House at Chelsea and
Stanmore Hall, Stanmore, the country residence of Mr. W. K.
D'Arcy. The interior of the latter, a very characteristic house, is
thus described in " The Studio " of September, 1893 : " The interest
lies in the applied decoration added to a building seventy years
old, which had been remodelled some time since by Mr. Brightwen
Binyon. But it is only with the final re-decoration that we are
concerned here. In this Messrs. William Morris and Co. have
had a free hand, not merely in such matters as usually fall within
the scope of decorators, but in the hangings, furniture, and carpets.
Hence the work shows a curious instance of one very individual
artist fettered by existing features not in themselves remarkable,
in a building not ideally adapted to his particular style ; but, on
the other hand, with control of many matters that do not usually
come within the limits of either architect or decorator — particu-
larly the carpets, which, designed specially for the places they
occupy, form an extremely important feature in Mr. Morris's
scheme of colour. The dining-room, however, was built anew,
and in it one feels the larger scope at the artist's disposal has
resulted in more complete beauty. Its chimney-piece of solid
white marble is ... of the fashion Mr. Morris employed many
years ago in his own house at Bexley Heath." A description has
been given above of the series of tapestries designed to represent
scenes from the romance of King Arthur, and manufactured by
Morris and Co. for the dining-room at Stanmore. " The tables
and chairs, the buffet . . . and the dining hatch, deserve special
notice, while the carpet is perhaps the most noteworthy item in a
splendid room, since it is one of Mr. Morris's most successful
designs and large enough to extort admiration on that ground
alone. The ceiling, in delicately moulded plaster, also commands
attention, and yet keeps its right place. The painted ceilings,
both in the entrance hall and staircase, deserve study, not because
they are ' hand-painted,' but because of their beautiful forms and
dainty colours. The delicate tones, like those of embroidery on
old white silk, are in shades of pinks, purples, tender greens, and

93 b B

spring yellows, on a pale creamy ground, the whole bright yet
light and with an aerial effect. . . . This lightness of the ceilings
and carpets, with the untouched oak of much of the panelling and
furniture, gives an air of gaiety . . . most unusual in work of this
school. On the walls of the vestibule a delicate pattern in . . .
silk and linen, and in the drawing-room a rich warm silk tapestry,
unite in preserving the same harmony of sumptuous decoration
kept within proper proportion. One has but to compare Stanmore
Hall with houses of equally elaborate adornment to feel that in
this respect it has no rival. The large ornament and bold forms
Mr. Morris delights in, prove their power to blend into a perfect
whole, elaborate but in no way overwhelming. The modelled
ceiling in the vestibule, and several others in the house, are left
in pure low-toned white, so that their rich decoration keeps its
place. The staircase, with its solid balustrade of oak inlaid with
dark walnut, is an important feature in the central hall."

The firm have appeared before the public in yet another way,
to wit, in the capacity of stage decorators, to whom two plays by
Mr. Henry Arthur Jones owed their settings more or less. The
first was " The Crusaders," which had a run of three months
from the beginning of November, 1891, at the Avenue Theatre ;
the other, " The Case of Rebellious Susan," of which the first
performance, under the management of Mr. Charles Wyndham,
took place at the Criterion Theatre early in the year 1895, a & s *
and 3 being arranged by Messrs. Morris and Co.

The firm have been represented from time to time at exhibi-
tions of industrial art in the provinces as well as in the metro-
polis. The several Arts and Crafts Exhibitions that have been
held in London and in Manchester, for instance, were supplied
with plentiful selections of Messrs. Morris and Co.'s products in
the various branches of design and handicraft in which they are
engaged. In such ways as this, so far from being close-handed
or jealous of exposing his designs too openly, Mr. Morris was
well known for his liberality. Quite careless of his own interests
in the matter of copyrights, &c, he used freely to send specimens
of his wall-papers and textiles to different local schools of art all
over the country, until unhappily it was found that unfair advan-
tage of his generosity was so often taken that of late years the
supplies had to be stopped.

In 1877 Messrs. Morris and Co. took their present premises at
449, Oxford Street, comprising shop-front, show-rooms, offices,
&c, but the business still continued to be carried on in part at
the old place in Queen Square until the end of 1881, when every-
thing that remained was definitely transferred thence to the

MESSRS. MORRIS AND CO.'S WORKS. MERTON ABBEY.

Oxford Street house. Meanwhile the firm had acquired the
property at Merton, Surrey, and set up their works on the former
site of the abbey, in June, 1881. Morris kept the place in much
the same condition in which he found it, with the exception of
some slight renovations to the weaving-shed. Since it is not
without interest to learn how others see us — how such things
strike a foreigner, a short extract on the subject of Morris and
Co.'s works from " Passe le Detroit," by M. Gabriel Mourey, may
not be out of place. The French critic gives his impressions
thus : " The art workshops of Merton Abbey stand in an immense
field amid tall trees and charming scenery. Workshops did I
say? It is an ugly word that conjures up visions of grimy
smoke, creaking machinery, and bodily toil. No, there is nothing
of all that. It is a sort of large farmhouse built on one floor,
surrounded by foliage and greenery, close by the bank of a small
stream, the Wandle, which winds in and out with happy, joyous
murmurs. Such is the workshop of Merton Abbey. Nothing is
manufactured there except by hand. No machine-power is used,
either steam or electric, but implements of the simplest construc-
tion, the most primitive in kind, the old tools, the old handicrafts
of four or five centuries ago. The predominant feature is that
the artisan is allowed almost perfect liberty of talent and imagi-
nation in the development of his work. This is especially the

case in the tapestry and glass-work studios, where the most
exquisite marvels of art are turned out. The workman takes
part in the work, becomes artist, and imparts his own personality
to the thing created, of which a rough plan has first been drawn
up by the master. The hand-press is used, as at ' Kelmscott,' or
the velvet and cretonne work is done directly with the hand.
Thus is avoided that monotonous stiffness peculiar to the work of
modern machinery, and further, it encourages the workman to
take a more personal interest in his labour."

On the same subject Mr. Alan S. Cole writes in " The Art
Journal " in 1893 : " I may be mistaken, but I believe that in this
country Mr. Morris stands alone in the variety of intricate hand-
woven silks, &c, which he produces. Many are, no doubt, resus-
citations of ingenious twelfth-century methods. But for an
occasional distant whistle and rumble of trains, a twelfth-century
Sicilian weaver might, without sense of anomaly, take his seat in
the weaving-shed at Merton, and find himself almost as much at
home with the handicrafts pursued there as he was seven hundred
years ago with those which engaged him in the palace at Palermo.
... In Mr. Morris's factory, apparently in contradiction of a
modern spirit of specializing and separately pursuing branches of
textile manufacture and treatment, are to be found in operation
the three technically distinct forms of weaving — namely, tapestry,
carpet, and ordinary shuttle weaving. . . . Besides these, there
are rooms for dyeing wools and threads used in the looms and
frames, a long upper story where cotton and other printing by
hand-blocks is done, and store-rooms and offices. Adjoining the
irregular group of workshops, and commanding a view of the
garden, with its trees, and stream, is a last century house, in
which is Mr. Morris's studio, and from which he has easy access
to his workrooms. An extra ounce of indigo to strengthen the
dye, an additional five minutes' immersion of threads in the vat,
a weft of colour to be swept through the warp in a moment of
inspiration, a dappling of bright points to lighten some over-
sombre hue in the grounding of a carpet, are some of the details
in technical and artistic administration constantly receiving the
attention of the director of the establishment, who thus secures
a standard of artistic production at which the systematized opera-
tions of a steam-driven factory have not arrived."

Again, a writer in " The Spectator " of November 24th, 1883,
in an article " On the Wandle," describing the Abbey works at
Merton, says that to anyone " passing through the gates from the
high road, the mill and Wandle present themselves much mixed
up together. The river as we saw it was shimmering in the

■Btk-,.

sunlight of a bright November afternoon ; little eddies of the
stream carried light and glimmer into dark corners, round the
many angles of the scattered building. Near its edge the stream
is shedded over, to protect some bright-brown wooden pegs,
turning on a wheel, through the mysteries of which bright blue
stuff is dripping and splashing. . . . Here is none of the ordinary
neat pomposity of ' business premises.' . . . We turn through
doors into a large, low room, where the hand-made carpets are
being worked. It is not crowded. In the middle sits a woman
finishing off some completed rugs; in a corner is a large pile of
worsted of a magnificent red, heaped becomingly into a deep-
coloured straw basket. The room is full of sunlight and colour.
The upright frames face you at right angles, with a long row of
windows looking close upon the bright-shining river. . . . The
strong, level afternoon light shines round the figures of the young
girls seated in rows on low benches along the frames, and
brightens to gold some of the fair heads. Above and behind
them'rows of bobbins of many-coloured worsteds, stuck on pegs,
shower down threads of beautiful colours, which are caught by
the deft fingers, passed through strong threads (fixed uprightly
in the frames, to serve as a foundation), tied in a knot, slipped
down in their place, snipped even with the rest of the carpet, all in
a second of time, by the little maidens. Twenty-five rows does
each do in a day, — that means about two inches of carpet. One
of the rugs being made is of silk, instead of worsted, very exqui-
site in quality of surface. ... It is a delightful workroom. . . .
Out again by the Wandle, and across a bridge . . . you pass
through a garden ; the paths and grass are covered with golden
leaves, and the fallen chestnuts roll under your feet, a faded sun-
flower hangs its head pathetically over the stream. . . . You
pass an open door and see men working over vats . . . where
the dyeing is done ; . . . but we turn into another room, where
the hand-looms are working busily, the shuttles flying to and fro
between the webs with a speed like lightning. . . . There are
many looms, and beautiful-coloured threads are being woven
into beautiful materials on every side. Men work the looms ; the
only women we saw employed at the mill were those working
the hand-made carpets. We go on to the rooms where the
printing and the stained glass is done. Both are reached by
outside wooden staircases. In the glass room we see cartoons
by Burne-Jones and by Morris himself in process of being copied.
There are many other rooms, for stores, in the old mill. In no
part of it does there seem any crowding, either of things or
people ; the work seems all going on cheerfully and steadily,

97 cc

without hurry." The writer continues : " In the work we have
been seeing what a strength there is of individuality, and what
an entire absence of commonplace self-importance ; what a
natural way of doing things, and what a sense of distinction in
all that is done ! . . . The genius of inventiveness and the love of
beauty are the ruling principles, not the making of money. The
machinery used in the manufacture is accommodated, made sub-
servient and elastic, to a standard of excellence which has no
place at all in the ordinary manufacturer's horizon, but is quite
outside and beyond it. If a piece of ordinary machinery can only
in part carry out the conception, however easy and inexpensive
the use of it would be, it is not used, but something else invented
or adapted which shall carry out what is wanted as perfectly as
it is possible to carry it out. If a dye is beautiful in colour, but
does not give a fast colour, no time is spared in inventing a com-
bination which will make it fast. The ordinary manufacturer,
even were he to perceive the beauty of the colour, would see no
advantage in overcoming difficulties and incurring expense in
order to use it. He would ignore it as practically useless. He
could not spare the time or money to try experiments." At
Merton, on the other hand, " No time, trouble or money is spared
in making the work as perfectly true to the conception as human
means can make it. . . . The results are evolved out of individual
choice, the means alone adjusting themselves as different require-
ments present themselves to the mind of the inventor, but the
choice is peremptory. . . . Here, at last, we can see some prac-
tical outcome of the principles of which Mr. Ruskin is the promi-
nent preacher. Here are examples of what the human machinery
can do at its best, heart, head and hand all in their right places
relatively to one another. . . . No wonder that the character of
this work done on the Wandle has a high distinction in it." . . .
It " is uncommon because it is so natural, so indicative of the
pure, ungreedy side of human nature, so real as an outcome of
individual choice. We may like it or dislike it, but very certain
it is that the inventor himself liked it." It is what it is because of
its independence of the " belief in any artificial standard of
beauty " or correctness ordained by " momentous academies or
individuals." It is the honest outcome of "genuine preference,"
and has unsophisticated nature "at the root of its creation."

It is gratifying to be assured that, if the closing of the
Kelmscott Press became, to adopt the cant phrase of the news-
papers, " an artistic necessity " on Mr. Morris's death, no such
fate threatens or need threaten the business of art decoration.
Mr. Morris took measures some years before he died to establish

the firm on a secure and independent footing, so that its work
might be carried on without break or hindrance in the event of
his decease. Moreover, he entrusted it into the hands of his two
partners and friends, Messrs. F. and R. Smith, brothers, who
have worked with him for close on twenty-five years past, and
who, as they enjoyed his confidence during his lifetime, so, now
that he is removed, are fully sensible of the responsibility of
carrying on his work as he would have wished it to be. And not
only have Mr. Dearie, the resident manager at Merton Abbey,
and other artists learnt, under Morris's training, to assimilate his
style and methods so closely as to be able to produce designs
scarcely distinguishable from their master's ; but also a consider-
able number of Morris's original sketches and cartoons that have
never yet been carried out, remain in the hands of the firm for
future use, as occasion may require. It is understood that Sir
Edward Burne-Jones will still supply the firm with designs for
their stained glass; a recent order of this kind, and one in fact
which has been accepted since Mr. Morris's death, being the west
window of St. Philip's, Birmingham.

It is not right to omit to mention here that the firm of Messrs.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. early took up the art of
wood-engraving, although, for the sake of convenience, the
treatment of this subject is reserved for another chapter.

It remains but to add a brief account of the constituent ele-
ments of Morris's ornamental design and of the leading features
which characterize it. And first as to his employment of the
primal form, the human figure. Morris's capabilities in this
regard, though not known so generally as they deserve to be,
were decidedly of a high order, as may be gathered from the
beautiful decorations he made for the roof of Jesus College Chapel,
and from the not less beautiful cartoons in the possession of Mr.
Fairfax Murray. In these figures may be discerned a refined
type of features of a character all his own, akin to and yet quite
distinct from the type of either Rossetti or Burne-Jones. One
cartoon, in colours, represents an angel holding a scroll ; the
other, in monochrome, six angels in adoration. It is twofold
and was designed for wall-painting. One half of it was lent by
the owner to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1893. At the
same exhibition was shown a small figure-panel of singular
charm, drawn for embroidery and carried out in that medium by
the designer's daughter, Mrs. Sparling. Next, as regards animal
shapes, Morris would seem to have restricted himself principally
to dragons, rabbits, and various kinds of birds, such as the pea-
cock, the dove, the thrush, the woodpecker, and the partridge.

But it was chiefliest in the adaptation of floral and vegetable
forms that he excelled. In this sphere one of Morris's most char-
acteristic types was that " glittering leafage " which, for want of a
more accurate name, it is convenient to designate as the Acanthus.
" No form of ornament," says Morris, " has gone so far or lasted
so long as this ; it has been infinitely varied, used by almost all
following styles " {i.e. after the Greek) " in one shape or another,
and performed many another office besides its original one." So
trite and stereotyped indeed had this familiar variety of foliage
become that it might have been supposed that its last word, as it
were, had long since been said in ornament ; its powers of further
growth exhausted. On the contrary, however, to such magnifi-
cent developments was it brought by Morris's creative genius, —
its grand coils of foliage turning and counter-turning this way
and that, its serrated edges bent over and back again, — that
it seems to have been redeemed and made fertile anew with a
splendid vitality, before which open out possibilities wellnigh
limitless.

Nor did the associations of his Oxford days fail to impress
themselves upon Morris's art. Thus he made frequent use of the
fritillary — or snake's-head, as it is popularly called — whose
chequered, purplish head is one of the characteristic sights in the
grass-fields by the river-side, particularly at Iffley, where it may
be seen nodding in profusion in the late spring. Another favourite
form of his was the long and slender spike of the wild tulip, which,
as Morris must have been aware, although it is not proved that
he ever saw it flowering there in his time, grew in the meadow
bordering on the Cherwell, to the south of the Botanical Gardens
at Oxford. Or was this rather one of those flowers which he
borrowed from Persian ornament ? Morris indeed loved best the
familiar forms of our English flowers, and most " the queen of
them all — the flower of flowers," the rose. This flower is one
which " has been grown double," says he, " from I don't know
when. The double rose was a gain to the world, a new beauty
was given us by it, and nothing taken away, since the wild rose
grows in every hedge. Yet even then one might be excused for
thinking that the wild rose was scarce improved on, for nothing
can be more beautiful in general growth or in detail than a way-
side bush of it, nor can any scent be as sweet and pure as its
scent. Nevertheless the garden rose had a new beauty of abund-
ant form, while its leaves had not lost the wonderfully delicate
texture of the wild one. The full colour it had gained, from the
blush rose to the damask, was pure and true amidst all its added
force, and though its scent had certainly lost some of the sweet-

ioo

ness of the eglantine, it was fresh still, as well as so abundantly
rich." On the whole, however, Morris's counsel — which he
followed himself— was : " Be very shy of double flowers ; choose
the old columbine where the clustering doves are unmistakable
and distinct, not the double one, where they run into mere tatters.
Choose . . . the old china-aster with the yellow centre, that goes
so well with the purple-brown stems and curiously coloured
florets, instead of the lumps that look like cut paper, of which we
are now so proud. Don't be swindled out of that wonder of
beauty, a single snowdrop ; there is no gain and plenty of loss in
the double one. More loss still in the double sunflower, which is
a coarse-coloured and dull plant, whereas the single one, though
a late comer to our gardens, is by no means to be despised, since
it will grow anywhere, and is both interesting and beautiful,
with its sharply chiselled yellow florets relieved by the quaintly
patterned sad-coloured centre clogged with honey and beset with
bees and butterflies." Though this advice of Morris's for avoiding
" over-artificiality in flowers " is given, as a matter of fact, with a
view to the selecting of plants for a garden, it nevertheless applies
to the choice of flowers in ornament as well. " Many plants,"
there are, in his opinion, " which are curiosities only, which
Nature meant to be grotesque, not beautiful, and which are
generally the growth of hot countries, where things sprout over
quick and rank. Take note that the strangest of these come from
the jungle and the tropical waste, from places where man is not
at home but is an intruder, an enemy. . . . But there are some
flowers (inventions of men, i.e. florists) which are bad colour
altogether, and not to be used at all. Scarlet geraniums, for
instance, or the yellow calceolaria, which are indeed not uncom-
monly grown together profusely, in order, I suppose, to show
that even flowers can be thoroughly ugly." Such forms then one
need not look to find in Morris's designs. But the flowers one
does recognize therein, besides those already enumerated, are the
peony and poppy, the honeysuckle, carnation and iris, larkspur
and anemone, the daisy and the marigold. These were the main-
springs of Morris's inspiration. And it is this he intended to
convey when he said that ornament should have a meaning,
should express something, viz., that it ought to give the im-
pression of having been founded upon some object in actual exist-
ence, instead of being, like most of the " ornament " of the Louis
XIV., XV., and XVI. periods, a mere shapeless and senseless
elaboration of nothing at all. At the same time Morris's decora-
tive work is as far as possible from being didactic. He never
used it as the vehicle for the expression of a lesson or theory ;

101 D D

never set himself to preach or to expound through the medium of
ornament, as some do. His is the very type of aesthetic design.
" He was too true an artist to follow art into its byways of moral
significance and thereby cripple its broader arms." This was
Hall Caine's account of Rossetti; but the words might apply with
even greater truth to William Morris. No bogey of the pulpit or
of the platform lurks within the folds of his velvets ; no homily is
to be discovered in the colours of his chintzes ; no allegory latent
in the lines of his wall-papers. Their charm is just what it
appears to the eye to be : there is nothing else concealed beneath
their surface. One may enjoy the beauty of them, and one may
revel in it to one's heart's content with the confident assurance
that the designer is not the man to take a mean advantage of
one's being absorbed in admiration for the purpose of cozening
one, as a reluctant child is cozened, into swallowing a stealthy
pill enfolded in a delicious wrapping of sweet-stuff. Artless as a
child himself, Morris was in absolute sympathy with, and shared,
the child's view of the case. And since few things are more dis-
tasteful to anybody than to be edified malgri lui, Morris does not
attempt to do so surreptitiously. But when, on the other hand,
he has a message to deliver, as for instance in his Socialistic
writings, he states the matter plainly and straightforwardly, in
terms, at times, outspoken even to bluntness. There is no fine
writing then, nor any precious periods nor phrases to dazzle and
captivate the senses.

With Morris, then, art and literature were kept quite distinct ;
their functions never confounded by him. He was too whole-
hearted in his devotion to both to impair the integrity of either by
making it subservient to the other or dependent upon that other for
support. Indeed in his case neither had need to be supplemented
by the other ; nor to derive any powers of fascination from with-
out, but held to its own perfection in either sphere untrammelled.
Quotations from prose and poetry may have to be tacked on to
the Academy picture so as to pander to the taste of a public in-
capable of feeling any appreciable joy in beauty for its own sake ;
of enthusiasm for anything but what embodies a sentiment or has
a story belonging to it. But it was otherwise with Morris's work.
Take, for example, the verses he wove into his tapestries. The
lettering of the words, the folds of the ribands on which they were
inscribed, both alike being carefully considered and integral parts
of the design, are pure ornament — no less than that and no more.
The only Morris pattern that can be said to have even a remote
connection with literature is the " Brother Rabbits " cretonne ;
and that merely by way of a reminiscence of the amusement

102

afforded by the foibles of " Brer Rabbit " in Joel Chandler Harris's
" Uncle Remus." The design does not attempt of course to illus-
trate the book. For practical convenience, to avoid confusion in
the ordinary course of business, it was indispensable for Morris's
numerous designs to be distinguished each by a different name.
But as often as not the title was purely arbitrary and had little
or no connection with the particular pattern in point. Thus a
list of names was taken from the tributaries of the Thames, but
these names, it is needless to say, made no pretence to be sugges-
tive of the subject-matter of the designs by which they were
borne respectively.

The correlation of the arts is a subject upon which, of late
years, a great deal has been said and written. The principle is
one which is supposed to dominate the aesthetic school above all
others ; but one hears little enough of its perilous tendencies, or
of how conspicuously and how successfully Morris escaped them ;
how again and again he insisted that it was wrong for anything
to be expressed in the terms of one art which would have been
expressed better in the terms of another. The process leads in-
variably to a nondescript product, that, by whichsoever standard
it be measured, fails to come up to the proper requirements. One
has heard much talk of " painter-poets," " musician-painters," and
recently even of " poet-upholsterers " — titles for which there is
about as much warrant as for that of " Cardinal-Archbishop."
One has heard tell also of " painted-poems," "painted allegories,"
" sculptured poems," and, even worse hybrids, of different " colour-
symphonies," "nocturnes," "variations," " harmonies," "scherzos,"
and more nonsense and to spare of the like sort. Morris could
not away with any of these eccentric methods of " making
enemies" — which, being interpreted, is, of course, advertising
oneself; nor indeed would his straightforward principles have
allowed him to stoop to such artifices, to prostitute his art in such
wise. In a word, his designs owe their attractiveness to no
adventitious charm of association or issue outside themselves,
but stand supreme, resting their claim to homage on nothing else
but their own inherent merits, their aesthetic qualities of form
and colour combined with their appropriateness for the purpose
for which they are intended to be used. And so Morris called
himself only "an ornamentalist, a maker of would-be pretty
things " !

As in the realm of poetry William Morris made good his
claim to be the representative of Chaucer and of Spenser ; so, in
the genealogy of art, none has so indisputable a title as he to be
the lineal descendant of the Gothic artists. There is not the

103

slightest taint of the Renaissance or of Japanese influence in his
work — in which respect, indeed, his position is remarkable and
almost unique among the designers of modern times. Withal
there may be traced in him a certain strain of Persian and of
Byzantine origin. In the blending of these several elements,
now one, now another being present in greater proportion than
the rest, might give a certain complexion to any given design ;
but above all else the strong individuality of William Morris
himself always prevailed, making all his decoration of one per-
fectly sustained and consistent style ; and such that no one
having the most superficial acquaintance with ornamental design
could mistake Morris's for anybody else's work. However, it
was not vouchsafed him to be spared the usual fate which a
master of style must suffer at the hands of those less gifted than
himself. " His power is proved," — to quote once more from a
writer in " The Spectator," whose views on this very point happen
to be in direct antagonism to those of Mr. Robert Buchanan, —
" by his many imitators. Nearly all the better kind of designs in
the shops are, as far as they are good, cribs from Morris, just
altered sufficiently ' to prevent unpleasantness.' His willow-
pattern paper is taken very boldly, stamped upon a carpet, and a
trellis of little squares added by the accommodator. Even Paris
taste, that mixture of fantastic extravagance, persistence in
mediocrity, and industrious finish of detail, took up the style of
Morris colours some years ago, and flavoured it with the usual
touch of French morbid cynicism by calling the colours ' teints
degrades? " What an inversion of the order of things ! And how
quickly must the memory of the beautiful old colours (the only
colours known and used until the lurid discoveries of Perkins
blinded men's eyes with the glare and vulgarity of coal-tar) have
faded from the mental vision of French folk, how utterly become
obliterated, if the same colours when presented once more to them,
not a quarter of a century afterwards, could strike them only as
being some novel form of corruption ! It is quite a mistake to
imagine that Morris either had himself introduced or approved of
the introduction of the dull and gloomy colours in the popular
estimate associated with the art movement. In one of the
addresses included in " Hopes and Fears for Art " Morris, though
not denying that crudeness of colouring is a possible danger,
warned his audience in most emphatic terms against " getting
. . . colour dingy and muddy, a worse fault than the other
because less likely to be curable. All right-minded craftsmen
who work in colour," he continues, "will strive to make their
work as bright as possible, as full of colours as the nature of the

104

work will allow it to be." And again he says : " Do not fall into
the trap of a dingy, bilious-looking yellow-green, a colour to
which I have a special and personal hatred, because (if you will
excuse my mentioning personal matters) I have been supposed to
have somewhat brought it into vogue. I assure you I am not
really responsible for it."

" I am an artist," wrote Morris, " or workman, with a strong
inclination to exercise what capacities I may have, and a deter-
mination to do nothing shabby if I can help it." Now one of the
worst forms of shabbiness, in Morris's eyes, was plagiarism,
which he abhorred for artistic no less than for ethical reasons.
"Everyone ought to do his own work," was the maxim by which
he was guided himself and would have others guided, because he
knew, only too well, the paralysing and destructive effects exer-
cised on the faculty of invention by indolent and disingenuous
copyism. This, then, is what he says on the duty of exerting
one's own originality in decorative design : " Your convention
must be your own, and not borrowed from other times and
peoples ; or at the least you must make it your own by thoroughly
understanding both the nature and the art you are dealing with.
If you do not heed this, I do not know but what you may not as
well turn to and draw laborious portraits of natural forms of flower
and bird and beast, and stick them on your walls anyhow. It is
true you will not get ornament so, but you may learn something
for your trouble ; whereas, using an obviously true principle as a
stalking-horse for laziness of purpose and lack of invention will
but injure art all round, and blind people to the truth of that very
principle."

In his evidence before the Royal Commission on Technical
Education in 1882, after stating that the business he carried on
comprised weaving, dyeing) cotton printing, carpet weaving, glass
painting and cabinet making, Morris said : " I make mostly my
own designs ; I do not employ designers because, amongst other
reasons, it is so very difficult to get a due amount of originality
out of them ; the designs which one gets are too hackneyed, and
there is the same sort of idea harped upon for ever and ever.
Mine is quite a peculiar trade." And, in reply to the question :
" Your forte is originality ? " he answered in the affirmative. " It
is necessary for our business merely as a commercial affair. I
need not say it is desirable in everything in which one applies
design to the industrial arts." The vast amount of the original
design produced by Morris is almost incredible. If " great genius
means," as Mr. Marion Crawford says it does, " great and constant
creative power before all things ; " if " it means wealth of resource

105 e E

and invention ; . . . quantity as well as quality," then William
Morris was surely a genius of greatness pre-eminent. It would
be difficult for anyone who had not been admitted, as it were,
behind the scenes at Messrs. Morris and Co.'s, nor been shown
the mass of sketch-designs and cartoons prepared by William
Morris's own hand for execution in various mediums; or for any-
one who had not been in the habit of calling at his house and find-
ing him, as was his wont, at work or, if resting for a few minutes,
with the ink or the colour scarcely dried upon the paper before him ;
it would be difficult for such an one to comprehend the prodigious
industry of the man. It was simply astounding. Indeed he is
not exaggerating when he says, in one of his lectures, that having
once tried to think what would happen to him if he were for-
bidden his ordinary daily work, he knew that he should die of
despair and weariness, unless he could straightway take to some-
thing else which he could make his daily work ; and that the
reason clearly was because he loved the work itself ; nay, even
mechanical work was pleasant to him, provided that it were not too
mechanical. Thus he who, while insisting on the universal duty
of work, yet would have had labour press unduly on no man, was
unsparing of himself. The precepts Morris enjoined on others
were in his own case no empty formulas. If any man ever prac-
tised to the letter what he preached, it was William Morris, who
set an example of untiring activity and application that might
well put other people to shame. Never was a more busy, a more
conscientious worker than he. Thoroughness was one of his
most prominent qualities. Nothing was allowed by him to be
done hurriedly or carelessly ; nothing left in an unfinished state
that could be finished ; nothing passed as satisfactory until it had
been brought as near as human hands could avail to bring it, to
that ideal standard he had conceived of it in his own mind.
Formerly he used even to set out with his own hands and square
up his designs for tapestry and carpet weaving. But, careful as
he was in the preparation of his patterns beforehand, once they
were executed, the originals in his eyes were of no further use. In
short, he regarded them as so many tools, as means merely to an
end, which end attained in the concrete form of the manufactured
article, the raison d'etre of the design had ceased for him. He used
readily to part with, in exchange for books or anything else which
he happened for the moment to want, original and unique draw-
ings of his own which one would have supposed of almost price-
less worth.

One may be permitted to borrow once more from M. Mourey
on the subject of Morris's share in the revival of the industrial

106

arts of this country. Morris, says the French writer, " is especi-
ally keen on the art of the Middle Ages, the complex and fertile
depths of which he has penetrated with wonderful acuteness,
even to restoring it in all its beauty. And it is through those
unknown workers who have by their labours and the fruits of
their imagination profusely adorned not only cathedral stones
but the most trifling objects, that William Morris has been able
to bring about this Restoration of Decorative Art of which he
himself is the originator and master. He is indeed an earnest
worker who has sounded the older methods and early formulas,
and has attempted and realized all with wonderful breadth and
originality. . . . Now this imagination, this power to create, this
rare gift of transforming one's subject into seductive harmony of
form, happy combination of lines, enchanting rhythms of colour,
or developing it by unexpected deductions, enriching it with one's
fancy until it blossoms forth in beauty, melancholy, or merely
fresh and simple tones — what other worker in decorative art
possesses to such a degree as he ? But apart from his innate gift,
the tools employed are well known : earnest, attentive and
sincere study of nature ; thorough and well-grounded knowledge
of past epochs instead of that servile imitation with which we
content ourselves ; and above all — what so often proves a true
stumbling-block in decorative art — scrupulous heed that the
caprices of invention, colour and form shall be in perfect accord
with the requirements of the material."

" And his influence ? To give a fair answer to this question
one must have lived an English life. It has indeed been deep,
restorative, transforming the outward and decorative side of life,
adorning the home with the pleasures of art — and we all know
how full of significance that word home is. We meet with the
fertile results of his mind on all sides. ... It is a real style he
has created, a style which owes its origin to that perfect, clear
and expressive style of the Middle Ages, which alone is capable
of providing the nineteenth century with material and ideas
suitable to it, which passes by Japanese and Persian art to
develop in the original, fruitful imagination and temperament of
the northern." '

A writer in " The Edinburgh Review " says : " Even in the
ordinary work exposed for sale in furniture shops the effect of the
change is manifest; tradesmen . . . have been compelled to do
their best to follow the change in public demand. And this im-
provement in household taste is the direct work of Morris more
than of anyone else. He set the example of designing furniture
in accordance with the requirements and expression of structure

107

(in which respect furniture properly follows much the same
principles as architecture) ; of considering harmony of colour in
the carpets, papering, and other decorations of a room ; of treat-
ing designs based on natural foliage on true decorative principles,
conventionalizing the forms employed, and teaching the public
the importance of beauty of line and of preserving the balance
and spacing of decorative detail. . . . Morris's perceptions in this
class of work were not based on any mere dilettante preferences.
They were the result of a close and unremitting study of the
subject. It is said by those who knew him well that no man had
such a thorough and exhaustive knowledge of the technical pro-
cesses of old work, so far as we now have the means of knowing
them. Design in all the decorative arts is, or should be, based
upon or largely influenced by technique ; it was the perception of
this, and the knowledge of the technical requirements and possi-
bilities in connection with each class of material, which led him
to the right path in the treatment of design."

Mr. Herbert Home, in " The Saturday Review," rightly said
of Morris that " in his genius for fine craftsmanship he was alone ;
a unique figure of our time." He then points out the beneficial
influence of a cultured age like the fifteenth century, and how
such an influence " is nowhere shown to more evident advantage
than in the production of those goods and fabrics which are
intended for the uses of daily life, but into which the element of
beauty enters in some degree or another ; the craft of cabinet
making, for example," or " the weaving of figured textiles ; " and
he contrasts that desirable state of things with the present.
'■' In an age like our own, when the sphere of the practical
utilities of life is wholly divorced from the sphere of art, this
element of beauty is apt to be mistaken, or lost sight of, by those
who practise these crafts, and an indifference to produce beauti-
fully is soon followed by an indifference to produce well. It is
here precisely that the conditions of good craftsmanship assert
themselves ; reminding us that the craftsman is neither wholly
concerned with mere utility on the one hand, nor with mere
beauty on the other ; but that his productions must be fitted to
the uses for which they are intended ; that they must be well
made ; and that they must be made with a due sense of beauty.
For us, the tradition of such craftsmanship has long been broken ;
and, to recover it, the craftsman is forced to revert to methods
which have been lost or forgotten, to the productions of some
other age than our own. In this attempt Morris went beyond
anyone of his time. The success, for example, with which he
revived the older and simpler methods of the dyer's art, and the

108

use of vegetable dyes, has contributed not a little to the beauty
of his tapestries, his silks, and his other textile and printed
fabrics. His painted glass, his decorative paintings and furniture
... all show the fine instinct with which he returned to sound
principles of good craftsmanship, employing only the simplest
and best of materials." " He has done much," says another
writer, " to rehabilitate the pride in workmanship that was at
one time a characteristic of English workmen, but which of late
years, under the influence of commercialism," and other causes,
" we are said to have lost."

Enough has now been said to show that William Morris
was no mere dabbler but a specialist in the arts ; how that he
grappled with the technical difficulties — aye, and the commercial
difficulties, too — of one handicraft after another ; how that, once
having taken up any particular branch of industry, he never let it
go until he had made himself an expert in all the intricacies of
it; and how, while handling it as any practical man of business
might do, over and above all that, he dignified it through the
riches of his own transcendent imagination, bringing it into
accord with his own refined sense of beauty. It is thus impos-
sible to over-estimate the influence of William Morris in the
improvement of household taste. When he " began his crusade
against ugliness and bad work, the art of house decoration," says
a writer in "The Standard," "was at the lowest ebb," and "there
was little produced which was not positively repulsive both in
execution and design." But, thanks to Morris, the remedy for
so deplorable a state of things is with us. In the establishment
of the decorative firm which bears his name he provided the
public with both an illustration of his teaching and also a practical
means of putting it into effect in their own surroundings. How
great a multitude of houses he has thus directly or indirectly
beautified none can tell — it is indeed incalculable. In short,
as Mr. Harry Quilter says, the decorative reform achieved by
William Morris is such that " has changed the look of half the
houses in London, and substituted art for ugliness all over the
kingdom."

109 ff

CHAPTER SIX: KELMSCOTT MANOR.

'INCE he left the Red House at Upton,
William Morris was for five years with-
out a home in the country. His friend
Rossetti, being desirous " of establishing
some country quarters for work, where,"
so he wrote, " I can leave my belong-
ings, and return to them as opportunity
offers ; " and such an arrangement as
that proposed being agreeable to Morris
as well, they began to look out for a
suitable place to take together. They
had been searching already some little time, " when this one,"
writes Rossetti from Kelmscott Manor, " was discovered in a
house-agent's catalogue — the last place one would have expected
to furnish such an out- of-the- world commodity." Out-of-the-world
indeed ! for in those days there was no railway station nearer
than at Faringdon, a drive of seven miles. However, in 1873, a
station on the Oxford and Fairford line was opened at Lechlade,
a distance of between three and four miles from Kelmscott.
Before the end of May, 1871, Morris had decided with Rossetti to
rent Kelmscott Manor, and in less than two months' time their
joint occupation was begun. Morris held the house from that
time to the day of his death, a space of five-and-twenty years.
He used to stay there longest in the autumn months, but at other
times whenever he was overworn with too much work, or other-
wise in need of change, he only had to go down there and find
the rest and refreshment that he needed. How devoted he was
to the place he signalized in more ways than one. Undoubtedly
he had it in his mind when he said to his audience in one of his
lectures : " There may be some here who have the good luck to
dwell in those noble buildings which our forefathers built, out of
their very souls, one may say ; such good luck I call about the
greatest that can befall a man in these days."

In " News From Nowhere " Morris describes a journey up
the river to Kelmscott — not his " first visit by many a time. I
know these reaches well ; indeed, I may say that I know every
yard of the Thames from Hammersmith to Cricklade." The
teller of the tale, fancying himself in the neighbourhood of
Hampton Court, says, " And as we slipped between the lovely
summer greenery, I almost felt my youth come back to me, and
as if I were on one of those water excursions which I used to
enjoy so much in days when I was too happy to think that there

could be
much amiss
anywhere."
The visit in
the romance
is represent-
ed as taking
place at just
the year's
season at
which Morris
first took up
his abode at
Kelmscott,
and it may
well be that
he is record-
ing here his
exact im-
pressions at
the time. He
dwells with
tender sym-
pathy on the
description
of the various

river-side scenes he loved, from the " beginning of the country
Thames " with its " bough-hung banks," until his arrival at the
very threshold of his home — "the mowing-field; whence came
waves of fragrance from the flowering clover amidst of the ripe
grass. In a few minutes we had passed through a deep eddy-
ing pool into the sharp stream that ran from the ford, and beached
our craft on a tiny strand of limestone gravel, and stepped
ashore . . . our journey done. . . . The river came down through
a wide meadow on my left, which was grey now with the
ripened seeding grasses ; the gleaming water was lost presently
by a turn of the bank, but over the meadow I could see the
mingled gables of a building where I knew the locks must be.
... I turned a little to my right, and through the hawthorn
sprays and long shoots of the wild roses could see the flat
country spreading out far away under the sun of the calm
evening. . . . Before me the elm boughs still hid most of what
houses there might be in this river-side dwelling of men ; but to
the right of the cart-road a few grey buildings of the simplest kind

KELMSCOTT MANOR.

ENTRANCE FRONT.

KELMSCOTT MANOR.

FROM THE GARTH.

showed here and there." It may be remarked at this point, by
way of explanation, that the soil in the neighbourhood being
light, the trees that flourish thereabouts are chiefly elm-trees.
" Almost without my will my feet moved on along the road they
knew. The raised way led us into a little field bounded by a
backwater of the river on one side ; on the right hand we could
see a cluster of small houses and barns, new and old, and before
us a grey stone barn and a wall partly overgrown with ivy, over
which a few grey gables showed. The village road ended in the
shallow of the aforesaid backwater. We crossed the road, and
again, almost without my will, my hand raised the latch of a
door in the wall, and we stood presently on a stone path which
led up to the old house. . . . The garden between the wall and
the house was redolent of the June flowers, and the roses were
rolling over one another with that delicious superabundance of
small well-tended gardens which at first sight takes away all
thought from the beholder save that of beauty. The blackbirds
were singing their loudest, the doves were cooing on the roof-
ridge, the rooks in the high elm-trees beyond were garrulous
among the young leaves, and the swifts wheeled whirring about the
gables. And the house itself was a fit guardian for all the beauty
of this heart of summer. . . . ' This many-gabled old house, built
by the simple country-folk of the long-past times, regardless of

112

KELMSCOTT MANOR. BACK OF THE HOUSE.

all the turmoil that was going on in cities and courts, is lovely
still.' " His companion in the story then led him " close up to the
house, and laid her shapely, sun-browned hand and arm on the
lichened wall as if to embrace it, and cried out, ' O me ! O me !
How I love the earth, and the seasons, and weather, and all
things that deal with it, and all that grows out of it — as this has
done ! ' . . . We stood there a while by the corner of the big gable
of the house. . . . We drew back a little, and looked up at the
house : the door and the windows were open to the fragrant sun-
cured air. . . . We ■went in. . . . We wandered from room to
room, — from the rose-covered porch to the strange and quaint
garrets amongst the great timbers of the roof, where of old time
the tillers and herdsmen of the manor slept. Everywhere there
was but little furniture, and that only the most necessary, and of
the simplest forms. The extravagant love of ornament which I
had noted . . . elsewhere seemed here to have given place to the
feeling that the house itself and its associations was the orna-
ment of the country life amidst which it had been left stranded
from old times, and that to re-ornament it would but take away
its use as a piece of natural beauty.

113 G G

KELMSCOTT MANOR.

FROM THE MEADOW AT THE BACK.

"We sat
down at last
a room
. . . which
was still
hung with
old tapestry,
originally of
no artistic
value, but
now faded
into pleas-
ant grey
tones which
harmonized
thoroughly
well with
the quiet of

the place, and which would have been ill-supplanted by brighter
and more striking decoration. I . . . became . . . scarce conscious
of anything, but that I was there in that old room, the doves
crooning from the roofs of the barn and dovecot beyond the
window opposite to me." He then noted the contrast between
his living companion and " the grey faded tapestry with its futile
design, which was now only bearable because it had grown so
faint and feeble." Presently he goes " downstairs and out of the
house into the garden by a little side door which opened out
of a curious lobby." He is still in the " lovely garden," "when
a little gate in the fence, which led into a small elm-shaded field,
was opened " and a friend " came up the garden path, who ex-
claimed, ' I thought you . . . would like to see the old house. . . .
Isn't it a jewel of a house after its kind ? ' " Such is the picture he
drew of Kelmscott, and one not so much idealized but that to re-
cognize the original of it is easy enough.

Again in an article, dated at " Kelmscott, October 25," and
published in "The Quest" (Birmingham), of November, 1895,
William Morris, under the title " Gossip about an old House on
the Upper Thames," furnishes another account of his country
home. " The village of Kelmscott," he begins, " lies close to " the
river, " some five miles (by water) from the present end of the
navigation at Inglesham." After a short survey of the neighbour-
hood, he then proceeds to describe the " mass of grey walls and
pearly-grey roofs which makes the House, called by courtesy
the Manor House, though it seems to have no manorial rights

114

attached to it. . . . It lies at the very end of the village on a
road which, brought up shortly by a backwater of the Thames,
becomes a mere cart track leading into the meadows along the
river. . . . Entering the door in . . . the high impointed stone
wall, . . . you go up a nagged path through the front garden to the
porch which is a modern but harmless addition in wood. The
house from this side is a lowish three-storied one with mullioned
windows (in the third these are in the gables), and at right
angles to this another block whose bigger lower windows and
pedimented gable lights indicate a later date. The house is
built of well-laid rubble-stone of the district, the wall " in part
plastered over with thin plaster. " The roofs are covered with
the beautiful stone slates of the district, the most lovely covering
which a roof can have, especially when, as here and in all the
traditional old houses of the country-side, they are ' sized down ' ;
the smaller ones to the top and the bigger towards the eaves,
which gives one the same sort of pleasure in their orderly beauty
as a fish's scales or a bird's feathers. Turning round the house
by the bigger block, one sees where the gable of the older and
simpler part of the house once came out, and notes with pleasure
the simple expression of the difference of levels in the first floor
and the third floor, as by the diversity of windows and roofs : the
back of the house shows nothing but the work of the earlier
builders, and is in plan of the shape of an E with the tongue cut
out. . . . Standing a little aloof from the north-east angle of the
building, one can get the best idea of a fact which it is essential
to note, and which is found in all these old houses hereabouts, to
wit, all the walls ' batter,' i.e. lean a little back. . . . We must
suppose that it is an example of traditional design from which
the builders could not escape. To my mind it is a beauty, taking
from the building a rigidity which would otherwise mar it ;
giving it (I can think of no other word) a flexibility which is
never found in our modern imitations of the houses of this age."
After a few -words on the adjoining farm buildings, the dovecot,
and garden, Morris continues : " Going under an arched opening
in the yew hedge which makes a little garth about a low door in
the middle of the north wall, one comes into a curious passage or
lobby " which " leads into what was once the great parlour. ... I
have many a memory of hot summer mornings passed in its cool-
ness amidst the green reflections of the garden. Turning back and
following a little passage leading from the lobby aforesaid to the
earlier part of the house " one comes, at the end of the passage, upon
" a delightful little room quite low ceilinged, in the place where the
house is ' thin in the wind,' so that there is a window east and a

ii5

KELMSCOTT MANOR.

THE TAPESTRY ROOM.

window west. . . . This room is really the heart of the Kelmscott
house, having been the parlour of the old house. . . . Outside this
little parlour is the entrance passage from the flagged path afore-
said, made by two stout studded partitions, the carpentry of which is
very agreeable to anyone who does not want cabinet work to sup-
plant carpentry." He then describes the upstairs part, of which
the feature is the tapestry room " over the big panelled parlour.
The walls of it are hung with tapestry of about 1600, representing
the story of Samson : they were never great works of art, and
now, when all the bright colours are faded out, and nothing is
left but the indigo blues, the greys and the warm yellowy browns,
they look better, I think, than they were meant to look . . . and,
in spite of the designer, they give an air of romance to the room
which nothing else would quite do. Another charm this room
has, that through its south window you not only catch a glimpse
of the Thames clover meadows, and the pretty little elm-crowned
hill over in Berkshire, . . . you can see not only the barn . . . with
its beautiful sharp gable, the grey stone sheds and the dovecot,
but also the flank of the earlier house and its little gables and
grey-scaled roofs, and this is a beautiful outlook indeed." Morris

116

does not even
omit to speak of
" the attics, i.e. the
open roof under
the slates, a very
sturdy beam roof
of elm often un-
squared ; it is most
curiously divided
under most of the
smaller gables into
little chambers
where, no doubt,
people, perhaps
the hired field
labourers, slept in
old time: the big-
ger space is open,
and is a fine place
for children to play
in, and has charm-
ing views east,
west and north :
but much of it is
too curious for de-
scription. . . . The
older part of the
house looks about 1573, and the later (in this country-side) looks 1630
to 1640. . . . Here then," the writer concludes, " are a few words
about a house that I love ; with a reasonable love I think : for
though my words may give you no idea of any special charm about
it, yet I assure you that the charm is there ; so much has the old
house grown up out of the soil and the lives of those that lived in
it; needing no grand office-architect, . . . but some thin thread of
tradition, a half-anxious sense of the delight of meadow and acre
and wood and river ; a certain amount (not too much let us hope) of
common-sense, a liking for making materials serve one's turn, and
perhaps, at bottom, some little grain of sentiment — this I think was
what went to the making of the old house. Might we not manage
to find some sympathy for all that from henceforward ! "

It was on a " memorable day," shortly after Morris and
Rossetti had entered upon their joint occupancy of Kelmscott
Manor, that Mr. Theodore Watts, being there at the time on a
visit to Rossetti, first met Morris " and was blessed," so he writes

117 H H

KELMSCOTT MANOR.

BED WITH HANGINGS
DESIGNED BY MR. SPARLING.

KELMSCOTT MANOR. THE ATTICS.

in " The Athenaeum," " with a friendship that lasted without
interruption for nearly a quarter of a century." In the same
paper Mr. Watts-Dunton mentions another occasion on which
himself was staying, together with the late Dr. Middleton, as
guests of Morris's at Kelmscott. " The beautiful old house and
the quaint, romantic chamber that served for studio, became,"
says Mrs. Esther Wood, " the resort of poets and artists, critics
and connoisseurs, disciples and aspirants, in companies small
indeed, but brilliant and memorable as any that gathered round
the young Pre-Raphaelites in Newman Street, or the maturer
masters of art and song that assembled in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.
Mr. William Morris and his family were there frequently."

In a letter addressed to his mother from Kelmscott, a few
days after his arrival there in 1871, Rossetti writes : " This house
and its surroundings are the loveliest ' haunt of ancient peace '
that can well be imagined — the house purely Elizabethan in
character, though it may probably not be so old as that. ... It
has a quantity of farm buildings of the thatched squatted order,
which look settled down into a purring state of comfort. . . . My
studio here is a delightful room, all hung round with old tapestry.
... It gives in grim sequence the history of Samson. ... I hope

118

H.P.Ci'tterA.

KELMSCOTT HOUSE.

UPPER MALL, HAMMERSMITH.

you will see this lovely old place some time when it is got quite
into order, and I am sure it will fill you with admiration. The
garden is a perfect paradise, and the whole is built on the very
banks of the Thames, along which there are beautiful walks for
miles." Rossetti found the quiet of this peaceful spot particularly
restful and soothing to him. He used constantly to be going
there for periods of longer or shorter duration at intervals during
three years. Indeed he resided there almost entirely between
1872 and 1874. He wrote much poetry and painted a certain
number of pictures there. Ford Madox Brown painted a great
part of his picture " Cromwell on his Farm " in the open air at
Kelmscott in 1872. In the winter of that year, Rossetti moved
his studio to the large drawing-room on the ground floor, on
account of the cold in the tapestry room. For he had returned with
Mr. George Hake to Kelmscott Manor from Scotland, whither he
had gone for some time in the autumn of 1872 for the benefit of his
health. Dr. Thomas Gordon Hake visited Rossetti at Kelmscott
and described the scenery of the place in his poem " Reminiscence."
Rossetti left Kelmscott altogether in July, 1874; after whose
withdrawal, for a period of about ten years, Mr. F. S. Ellis had a
share in the place with Morris and had the right, as part occupier,
to go there when it was convenient to himself to do so.

119

It was about the time of the dissolution of the original
partnership of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co., in 1874, that
William Morris changed his town residence from Queen Square,
Bloomsbury, to Horrington House, Chiswick, which he held
until he moved, only a few years later, to No. 26 on the Upper
Mall, Hammersmith. This house, which faces the river, he
named, after his country home on the Upper Thames, Kelmscott
House. It is said to have been occupied formerly by Dr. George
Macdonald, and, earlier still, by Francis Ronalds, the electrician,
who came to live there in 1816. By him were conducted some of
the very first experiments in telegraphy, in the garden at the
back of the house and in the sheds adjoining — the same buildings
which Morris made use of for his carpet weaving, and turned
subsequently into Socialist club and lecture-rooms.

120

CHAPTER SEVEN: SOCIETIES.

AD Mr. Morris been asked which one in
preference to any other of his under-
takings he considered his greatest and
best, he would have had no hesitation
in naming the Society for the Protection
of Ancient Buildings, which owes to
him more than anyone else both its
origin and its success. Should all else
he ever did be reprobated or forgotten,
he could yet confidently rest his claim
to be held in grateful remembrance of posterity for this signal
service alone. It is hardly possible to lay too much stress on
this department of Mr. Morris's work, or to overrate the import-
ance he himself attached to it. Indeed it is not too much to say,
that to be able to appreciate the motives that guided him in the
course he maintained in this regard is to possess the key to
William Morris's method and conduct in general throughout his
life. No cause was nearer to his heart than this. This it is
which everyone who would desire to interpret aright his life's work
must place first in any memorial of him. There is not a doubt
that Morris's attention was awakened to the urgency of the
subject; by his study of John Ruskin. Indeed, so entirely do the
opinions of the two writers agree on these points, that in many a
passage Ruskin expresses himself in terms that, removed from
the context, might well be mistaken by anyone not previously
acquainted with it for an utterance of Morris's, and vice versa.

It was in the year 1877 that the Society for the Protection of
Ancient Buildings, familiarly known as the " Anti-Scrape," was
founded, Mr. Morris being the leading spirit of the movement, and
himself drawing up a formal statement of its principles. The " new
interest, almost like another sense," he said, and the enthusiasm
that had arisen for the study of ancient monuments of art, con-
stituted in itself their most serious detriment. The " last fifty
years of knowledge and attention have done more for their
destruction than all the foregoing centuries of revolution, violence
and contempt. For Architecture, long decaying, died out, as a
popular art at least, just as the knowledge of mediaeval art was
born. So that the civilised world of the nineteenth century has
no style of its own amidst its wide knowledge of the styles of
other centuries. From this lack and this gain arose in men's
minds the strange idea of the Restoration of ancient buildings ;
and a strange and most fatal idea, which by its very name

121 1 1

implies that it is possible to strip from a building, this, that, and
the other part of its history— of its life that is, and then to stay
the hand at some arbitrary point, and leave it still historical,
living, and even as it once was."

" In earlier times this kind of forgery was impossible, because
knowledge failed the builders, or perhaps because instinct held
them back." Any change that took place in the way of repairs
or otherwise " was of necessity wrought in the unmistakable
fashion of the time . . . and was alive with the spirit of the
deeds done amidst its fashioning. The result of all this was
often a building in which the many changes, though harsh and
visible enough, were by their very contrast interesting and in-
structive, and could by no possibility mislead. But those who
make the changes wrought in our day under the name of Restora-
tion, while professing to bring back a building to the best time of
its history, have no guide but each his own individual whim ; . . .
the very nature of their task compels them to destroy something,
and to supply the gap by imagining what the earlier builders
should or might have done. . . . The whole surface of the build-
ing is necessarily tampered with " in the process ; " the appear-
ance of antiquity is taken away from such old parts of the fabric
as are left, . . . and, in short, a feeble and lifeless forgery is the
final result of all the wasted labour. It is sad to say that in this
manner most of the bigger Minsters, and a vast number of more
humble buildings, both in England and on the Continent, have
been dealt with. . . . For what is left we plead " and, since it is
impossible to restore the living spirit which was an inseparable
part of the religion, thought and manners that produced the
buildings of the past, we " call upon those who have to deal with
them, to put Protection in the place of Restoration, to stave off
decay by daily care, to prop a perilous wall or mend a leaky roof
by such means as are obviously meant for support or covering,
and show no pretence of other art, and otherwise to resist all
tampering with either the fabric or ornament of the building as it
stands ; if it has become inconvenient for its present use, to raise
another building rather than alter or enlarge the old one ; in fine,
to treat our ancient buildings as monuments of a byegone art,
created by byegone manners that modern art cannot meddle with
without destroying. Thus, and thus only, shall we escape the
reproach of our learning being turned into a snare to us ; thus,
and thus only, can we protect our ancient buildings, and hand
them down instructive and venerable to those that come after us."
Again, Morris concluded a lecture he gave on behalf of the Society
for the Protection of Ancient Buildings with the words : " Come

122

now, I invite you to support the most prudent Society in all
England."

Mr. Morris filled at the beginning the post of Honorary
Secretary singlehanded ; afterwards several other members were
associated with him in that office, and he served on the com-
mittee thenceforward to the end of his life. He was, from first to
last, one of the most active members of the Society. He never
spared himself, being always ready with voice and pen to forward
the objects of the Society. And, valuable as his time was, he
devoted much of it to this cause ; he used constantly to be going
about the country on behalf of the Society to inspect and
report upon the condition of ancient buildings, when the fact that
they were in danger of demolition, or of what was hardly less
disastrous, material injury in the name of restoration, had come
to the knowledge of the committee.

The Society had not been in existence two years before it
was found that its business was too onerous for one General
Committee that had been formed, and it became necessary to
nominate sub-committees to carry on its work. A special
Restoration Committee was appointed, which had before it and
sifted the cases submitted to the Society throughout a great
portion of the preceding year. A Foreign Committee was also
formed to take notice of the state of ancient buildings abroad, and
placed itself in communication with various archaeological
societies in different countries of Europe ; as well as instituting
particular inquiries from time to time with reference to ancient
monuments in India, Egypt, &c. The prospectus of the Society
was translated into French, German, Italian and Dutch, and
steps were taken to circulate it and to obtain corresponding
members in each of those countries.. In order to facilitate and
systematize the operations of the Society at home, local honorary
correspondents in various districts were appointed, who might
help to obtain quick and accurate information of proposed damage
to ancient buildings. Certain members of the Society meet from
week to week to carry on its affairs and make themselves respon-
sible for the labour of the correspondence its operations entail.

The Society holds annually a general meeting at which the
report of the past year is read, as well as a paper on some special
subject of interest bearing on the work of the Society. Mr.
Morris delivered an interesting speech at the general meeting on
June 28th, 1879. But by far the most important event of this year
for the Society — and possibly, indeed, the most important in their
annals — was the controversy with regard to the " restoration " of
St. Mark's at Venice.

123

As far back as March, 1872, a paragraph in " The Academy "
drew attention to the virtual destruction that had already befallen
Torcello and warned those of the public who had taste enough
to care about such things that a similar fate was threatening
St. Mark's itself. But at that time there was, unfortunately, in
this country no organization through which the voice of remon-
strance might hope to make itself heard, or claim respect and
compliance from the authorities abroad. Meanwhile the destruc-
tive " restoration " proceeded, until, both the north side and the
south of the venerable Byzantine basilica having been renovated,
it became only too evident that there was no time to lose if any
of the parts remaining of the fabric were to be saved. It was
actually a question, not only of replacing the old mosaics of the
west front with modern monstrosities by Salviati— though that,
in sooth, were bad enough — but of taking down and rebuilding
the entire facade, the supremest glory of the architecture of
St. Mark's, if indeed one may befittingly distinguish this from
that where everything is supreme, everything glorious. At a
meeting of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings,
held at Buckingham Street, Strand, in the first week of November,
1879, Mr. Morris, the honorary secretary, called attention to the
urgent necessity for decisive measures to check the proposed
total demolition of the west front of St. Mark's. It was resolved
to prepare a memorial and invite the signatures of all who
sympathized with the views of the Society, for presentation to the
Minister of Public Works in Italy, in view of the fact that that
official had called, or had declared his intention of calling, a
commission to decide whether the work should be begun at once
or after the lapse of a year. Hence the need for prompt action,
if the most beautiful feature of the basilica was to be saved. At
the same time a meeting for the same objects was held at the
Fitzwilliam Museum, at Cambridge, with Dr. Paget in the chair.
Another meeting took place on November 13th, at the Midland
Institute, at Birmingham, at which Morris was present and spoke.

On November 15th, 1879, a large meeting was held at the
Sheldonian Theatre, in Oxford, the Dean of Christ Church in the
chair, to discuss the expediency of appealing to the Italian
Minister of Works on the subject of St. Mark's. Mr. G. E. Street,
the architect, moved, and Burne-Jones seconded the first resolu-
tion, ■which was carried by acclamation. Other speakers in
sympathy with the objects of the meeting were Professors Rich-
mond and Holland, Dr. Acland, and Mr. W. Morris. The latter,
in his speech, mentioned that the south side of the church was
already spoilt, and concluded by reminding his audience that

124

" The buildings of a nation were essentially not only the property
of that nation but also of the world. So above all were the golden
walls that east and west had joined to build, — walls that were
the symbol of a literature." There followed certain corre-
spondence and notices on the subject in "The Times;" Morris,
on behalf of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings,
addressing to that paper two letters, dated November 22nd and
28th respectively. He appealed most earnestly to the Italian
people to do their utmost " to induce the authorities to forbid for
the future all meddling with the matchless mosaics and inlaid
works which are the crown of the glories of St. Mark's ; " and
observed that if only we could hear that the restoration of the
pavement had been stopped, it would do more than anything else
to allay our fears, " and would make many of us who at present
dread that we shall never dare to see Venice again, look forward
with redoubled pleasure to our next visit to the most romantic of
cities." In the course of the correspondence other letters, all
with the same intention, were addressed to "The Times" by
Messrs. Street, Henry Wallis, Stillman, and Edward Poynter, R.A.
Meanwhile the agitation in this country was not without its
effects in Italy, where the news of the movement, together with
the strong public opinion in England against the "restoration"
of St. Mark's, caused considerable shame and annoyance to the
authorities. In answer to the inquiries of the English corre-
spondent there, the truth came out. In self-defence the Italians
pleaded that it was the Austrians, during their occupation, who
were the first to tamper with the basilica. Had the Venetians
been wise they would have mistrusted the ways of the Austrian
Danaai, for all their seeming lavish zeal in defraying the cost of
rebuilding; but alas, the Laocoon had not yet arisen; other
counsels prevailed, and the Venetians took up the work where the
usurpers had left it off, and proceeded to carry out the " restora-
tion " of the south side of the church. It was at the point when
this job was completed that the perpetrators themselves became
alarmed, and the news of their debatings and of the dissensions
that ensued reached England. "It was not known," said "The
Times " leader of November 28th, "that the artistic conscience of
Italy had already been roused, and that the mischief which was
in full course had been stopped. The two previous completed
acts of destruction were known only too well, and the conclusion
was that the third, which had been taken in hand, would be com-
pleted too, after the same model and under the same guidance as
the former ones." The repudiation on the part of the authorities
of any intention of carrying out this fatal plan may have been

125 KK

genuine, but on the face of it there was only too much reason to
fear the contrary. It seems probable enough that the work of
destruction would have been carried through had not William
Morris given utterance to the voice of indignant protest that this
country sent forth almost unanimously. Seven years later the
subject arose again in the newspapers, and the Society for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings again came to the fore in defence
of the integrity of the beautiful basilica. This at least may be
asserted, that if St. Mark's was saved it had the narrowest escape ;
and everyone who visits the church and admires its peerless
facade should remember that to William Morris is owing an
immeasurable debt of gratitude for his timely intervention on
behalf of the building, and for the prominent part he took in
organizing the agitation against the threatened effacement of one
of the most exquisite monuments in the world.

With the object of helping to provide the necessary funds to
meet the increasing expenditure of the Society, as its work year
by year was " carried on with greater vigour, and extended over
a wider field," certain lectures were organized and given by
Professor Richmond, Messrs. Reginald Stuart Poole, E.J. Poynter,
R.A., J. T. Micklethwaite, and William Morris. These lectures,
of which two had been delivered by Morris, were issued together
in one volume in 1882.

Morris presided, and gave an address, at the annual meeting
of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings on June 4th,
1885. On this occasion he informed the Society that he had him-
self attended twice to give evidence before the Commission of the
Select Committee that sat on the subject of Mr. Pearson's plan
for altering and rebuilding parts of the exterior of Westminster
Hall, but he feared that the Hall was doomed in spite of all that
had been done to preserve it intact. Mr. Morris also took an
active part at this time in opposing the mischievous scheme for
demolishing, or suffering to fall into decay, certain of the ancient
churches of York. He visited the city at the end of May, 1885,
and addressed an enthusiastic meeting which was held there to
protest against the proposed monstrosity, as he described it. " It
was not our business to interfere," he said, " with ecclesiastical
arrangements. All we wanted was that in carrying out the scheme
the churches should not be destroyed. . . . Altogether it was a
very successful meeting."

Morris contributed an article to " The Nineteenth Century "
of March, 1889, on "Westminster Abbey and its Monuments," the
occasion being Mr. Shaw Lefevre's plan for providing for further
interments and the erection of fresh memorials in the Abbey

126

Church. Morris wrote another paper on the same subject, pub-
lished officially by the Society in 1894, entitled " Concerning West-
minster Abbey." Another paper he wrote for the Society at an
earlier date was "On the External Coverings of Roofs." Morris
gave an address at the Society's annual meeting on July 3rd, 1889.
In the autumn of 1890, at Trinity College, Cambridge, thanks to
the energy of Dr. Cunningham, who both proposed it and carried
it to a successful conclusion, a meeting was held in support of the
aims of the Society, the Master of Peterhouse in the chair. There
was a numerous attendance, and the audience listened with
sympathetic attention to the arguments which were put forward
by Mr. Morris and the other speakers, including Mr. Cobden-
Sanderson and Mr. Micklethwaite, on behalf of the religious as
well as artistic value of the genuineness of ancient buildings, as
opposed to the sham presentment of the modern restorer.

In his lecture on "The Prospects of Architecture in Civiliza-
tion," Morris incidentally showed his sympathy for some other
societies whose objects are to a great extent in harmony with
the last-named. " Though I ask your earnest support for such
associations as the Kyrle and the Commons Preservation Societies,
and though I feel sure that they have begun at the right end ; . . .
though we are bound to wait for nobody's help than our own in
dealing with the devouring hideousness and squalor of our great
towns, and especially of London, for which the whole country is
responsible ; yet it would be idle not to acknowledge that the
difficulties in our way are far too huge and wide-spreading to be
grappled by private or semi-private efforts only. All we can do
in this way we must look on not as palliatives of an unendurable
state of things, but as tokens of what we desire ; which is, in short,
the giving back to our country of the natural beauty of the earth,
which we are so ashamed of having taken away from it : and our
chief duty herein will be to quicken this shame and the pain that
comes from it in the hearts of our fellows : this, I say, is one of
the chief duties of all those who have any right to the title of
cultivated men."

On March nth, 1884, in the board-room of the Charing Cross
Hotel, was founded the Art Workers' Guild. This Society had
grown out of the St. George's Art Society, founded in 1883, and
composed in the main of pupils of Mr. Norman Shaw. The
members were thus necessarily architects ; but the idea of trying
to bring together the sundered branches of Art being mooted, in
the autumn of the Society's first year, led to certain meetings and
discussions with other artists. The result was the formation of a
society " to consist of Handicraftsmen and Designers in the Arts "

127

under the title of the Art Workers' Guild. This body absorbed
into itself practically the St. George's Art Society and another
society named " The Fifteen," a band of artists who used to meet
monthly at one another's houses for the reading and discussing
of papers on decorative art, their first gathering having taken
place under the roof of Mr. Lewis F. Day. The Art Workers'
Guild grew and increased rapidly ; among its objects being the
practical exposition of different art methods ; social gatherings
for conversation and discussion, with a paper occasionally read
by a member, or some eminent authority, on any art topic ; and
the holding of small exhibitions of old and modern objects of
beautiful workmanship, as well as of pictures and drawings.
The Guild, whose present place of meeting is the hall of Clifford's
Inn, " includes, besides the principal designers in decoration,
painters, architects, sculptors, wood-carvers, metal-workers, en-
gravers, and representatives of various other crafts." Mr. William
Morris became a member in November, 1888. He read before the
Guild a paper on "The Influence of Building Materials upon
Architecture." He was elected Master for the year 1892, and
afterwards ranked as Past-Master of the Guild.

Morris took a much more active part in the conduct of the
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, although neither in this case
was he the actual originator. However, he very soon became
drawn into it, and readily lent it his influential support soon
after the scheme of it had been formulated. Thus he may be
accounted as a co-founder of the Society, whose existence he
recognized as " one of the tokens " of the revival of decorative art
in our day. It was " in the summer of 1886," according to Mr.
Walter Crane, the first President of the Society, that " the
smouldering discontent which always exists among artists in
regard to the Royal Academy, threatened to burst into something
like a flame." A letter signed by Messrs. George Clausen,
W. Holman Hunt and Walter Crane, " appeared in the leading
dailies proposing the establishment of a really national exhibition
of the arts, which should include not only painting, sculpture, and
architecture, but also the arts of design generally. . . . The idea
of such a comprehensive exhibition was an exciting one, and
large and enthusiastic meetings were held of artists." But the
great stir that had promised so much began to dwindle into
inanity. It was soon disclosed that the motive of the picture-
painters was not the developing of the arts at all, but only the
pressing of certain changes in the election of the hanging com-
mittee of the Academy. " The decorative artists, . . . perceiving
their vision of a really representative exhibition of contemporary

128

work in the arts fading away and the whole force of the move-
ment being wasted in the forlorn hope of forcing reforms upon
the Academy, left the agitators in a body, and took counsel
together, with the immediate result that the Arts and Crafts
Exhibition Society came into being. Most of the members of the
new Society already belonged to the Art Workers' Guild. They
desired to illustrate and emphasize the importance of the indus-
trial arts as distinguished from the art of picture-painting, or, to
quote Mr. Crane once more, " to assert the claims of the decora-
tive designer and craftsman to the position of artist, and give
every one responsible in any way for the artistic character of a
work full individual credit, by giving his name in the catalogue,
whether the work was exhibited by a firm or not. They also
desired to bring the worker and the public together." There
being great risk of pecuniary loss attending an exhibition of this
kind, a certain number of gentlemen came forward and made
themselves answerable as guarantors in the event of a deficit.
Among the number Mr. Morris, who was on the committee,
generously guaranteed a considerable sum. His action in the
matter was the more noteworthy on account of its perfect disin-
terestedness. Morris himself had, as it is scarcely necessary to
point out, nothing to gain, either for himself personally or for his
firm, by an exhibition. His own artistic reputation had been
established long since ; and the only possible consequence to him,
apart from the satisfaction he would naturally feel in the general
advancement and popularizing of the arts, would be that he might
have helped to advertise other and younger workers in the same
field, and thereby have equipped them to enter the more easily
into competition with himself on his own ground. The first
exhibition was held in the autumn of 1888 at the New Gallery, in
Regent Street. It comprised not merely designs for work, but
the actual work itself, executed in wood-carving and furniture ;
embroidery, tapestry, and other textiles ; glass and pottery ; wall-
papers ; leather and metal work and jewellery ; as well as book
decoration, printing and binding, all selected for their artistic and
decorative quality alone ; " and undoubtedly included some of
the best contemporary work which had been produced in England
up to that time." This sort of exhibition was quite a new de-
parture and created a precedent which has since been followed
in many places, not only in the United Kingdom, but also on the
Continent and in America. Four subsequent exhibitions of the
Arts and Crafts Society have been held in London, at the New
Gallery, in the years 1889, 1890, 1893, and 1896 respectively. Mr.
William Morris was elected President of the Society at their

129 L L

annual general meeting in January, 1891, which office he con-
tinued to discharge until his death. He himself and his family,
as well as the firm of Morris and Co., have contributed numerous
objects of art work to the several exhibitions of the Society.
Moreover, a series of lectures in connection with the exhibitions
(saving the third one) having been organized for the purpose of
setting out the aims of the Society, and, by demonstration and
otherwise, of directing attention to the processes employed in the
arts and crafts, and so laying a foundation for the just apprecia-
tion both of the processes themselves and of their importance as
methods in design, Morris delivered three lectures : viz., on
" Tapestry and Carpet Weaving " during the first exhibition ; on
" Gothic Architecture " during the second ; and " On the Printing
of Books " during the third. Prefixed to the catalogues of the
first three exhibitions of the Society were various essays on
special arts and crafts written by different members. Morris
was one of the contributors, and when the essays were collected
and published together in 1893, he wrote a preface to the volume.
In fact, as the whole movement owed its being to him, so were
his interest and guidance the inspiration and mainstay of the
Society throughout. It may be added that the choice of the
Society could not have fallen upon a worthier representative
living to carry on the traditions of their late President than
Morris's friend and colleague, Walter Crane.

Mr. Morris belonged also to the Bibliographical Society. A
preliminary meeting of those interested in the formation of such
a society was held on July 15th, 1892, at the offices of the Library
Association. Mr. W. A. Copinger set forth the aims of the pro-
posed Society, which are as follows : the acquisition of information
upon subjects connected with bibliography ; the promotion and
encouragement of bibliographical studies and researches ; the
printing and publishing of works connected with bibliography;
and the formation of a bibliographical library at the headquarters
at 20, Hanover Square. Resolutions to the above effect were
carried, and a provisional committee and honorary secretary
appointed to draw up rules based on the resolutions. On
November 21st, 1892, the Society was inaugurated formally with
an address by its first President, Mr. Copinger, who concluded
with these words : " The objects of the Society are broad, and the
sphere of labour great — success depends mainly on united effort.
The formation of the Society should mark an epoch in the litera-
ture of this country. It should raise the standard of excellence,
and should labour with steady growth until bibliography is estab-
lished as an exact science, and occupies that proper position in

130

the realm of literature from which it has been so long by ignorance
excluded." The Society meets from time to time for the purpose
of hearing some paper or papers upon matters connected with the
objects of the Society, it being within the discretion of the Council
to print such papers among the Society's transactions. W. Morris
contributed a valuable paper, entitled "The Ideal Book."

On June 7th, 1894, Mr. Morris was elected a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London, and admitted formally on
November 22nd. To the Exhibition of English Mediaeval Paint-
ings and Illuminated MSS., organized by the Society at their
apartments in Burlington House, in June, 1896, Mr. Morris con-
tributed a valuable and important selection from his library, viz.,
A Bestiary on vellum, given to the church of SS. Mary and Cuth-
bert, at Radeford {i.e. Worksop Priory), in the year 1187; a Latin
Psalter of the twelfth century, on vellum, with illuminated initials,
with forty pages with pictures of Biblical subjects and martyrdoms
of saints ; four leaves from a Latin Psalter, date circa 1260 ; a Book
of Hours, with two full-page miniatures and richly illuminated
initials and ornamentation throughout, executed circa 1300 ; a
Sarum Missal with historiated initials, and a great number of
other ornaments ; and another Sarum Missal, illuminated, of the
fourteenth century. A loan collection of illuminated MSS. be-
longing to Mr. Morris was on view at the South Kensington
Museum at the time of his death.

CHAPTER EIGHT: BOOK DECORA-
TION AND THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.

OOKS and the beautifying of books were
no new fancy of Mr. Morris's. He began
in the early sixties by taking up wood-
engraving. The process he learnt in
the first instance by copying for practice
some of Albert Diirer's woodcuts. Mr.
Faulkner also learnt the art ; and it was
he who engraved, after D. G. Rossetti's
design, the frontispiece for Miss Christina
Rossetti's " Goblin Market," which was
published in 1862. The initials M. M.
F. and Co., in the corner of the picture, identified it as having
been executed on the part of the firm of Messrs. Morris, Marshall,
Faulkner and Co.

About 1865 Mr. Morris was full of the project: of the great
poem of " The Earthly Paradise," for which work he purposed an
elaborate scheme of illustrations, to be engraved after Burne-
Jones's drawings. The first of these were a set founded upon
Apuleius's story of Cupid and Psyche. Mr. Fairfax Murray is
the owner of the original studies, tracings of which by the
artist's hand, to the number of forty-three, outlined partly in pencil
and partly in ink upon tracing paper, for the purpose of trans-
ferring to the wood blocks, are now preserved in the Ruskin
School, beneath the University galleries, in the building of the
Taylorian Institution at Oxford. Among these drawings one at
least, viz., that of Pan and Psyche, was developed into an oil
painting (1874). Morris used to work on his own account upon
the engraving of these designs in the evenings after business
hours. Eight or nine were cut by others — the Misses Faulkner
(one of whom had learnt the technique of the process at Messrs.
Smith and Linton's), Miss Burden, Messrs. Wardle and Camp-
field. But the majority of the engravings were the work of
Morris's own hand. A few impressions only were printed, of
which a limited number of sets are yet extant in private posses-
sion. They are now very scarce and valuable, never having been
published. Other designs for the same work were made by
Burne-Jones to illustrate the stories of " Pygmalion and the
Image," " The Ring given to Venus," and Tannhauser. The
collaboration of the two artists has been mentioned already in
these pages. So also Morris made verses for Burne-Jones's set
of pictures of Pygmalion and Galatea, Day, Night, the Seasons,

132

FACSIMILE OF BLOCK ENGRAVED
BY WILLIAM MORRIS FOR THE
TITLE-PAGE OF "THE EARTHLY
PARADISE."

and " The Briar Rose "—the last-
named series being completed in
1890. Morris, moreover, engraved
with his own hand the square
block designed by Burne-Jones
for the title-page of " The Earthly
Paradise," which block, however,
was used only in the first edition
of that work, having been burnt
in the fire at Queen Square, in
1877. The block for the second
and subsequent editions was re-
engraved for Mr. Morris by George
Campfield. A larger wood-block,
designed by Morris himself and
representing St. Catherine, was
likewise destroyed in the fire.

In 1871 Morris was preparing
to issue as a decorative volume his poem, " Love is Enough." He
himself designed and engraved blocks for initials, borders, and
other ornaments for it, including a small amount of figure-work.
The first page was set up in type and printed, but never published,
for the undertaking was discontinued very shortly. Burne-Jones
also made in 1872 a set of drawings to illustrate the poem, as well
as a frontispiece. The latter was not finished until after the idea
of the publication had been abandoned. By that time the draw-
ing had passed into the hands of Fairfax Murray, and it was for
him that Burne-Jones eventually completed the design.

About 1870 Morris had cut from his designs a set of punches
for the hand-tooling of leather bindings. These punches were
unfortunately lost— not, however, before they had been turned to
practical account in the ornamentation, in floral diaper pattern,
of at least two book covers, which belong respectively to Lady
Burne-Jones and to Mr. Fairfax Murray.

If it cannot be claimed that Morris was actually the first to
deal with the cloth cover as an object susceptible of artistic
adornment, at any rate he was not far behindhand. The earliest
design produced for this class of work that can make any preten-
sion to artistic merit is perhaps the cloth binding of " Recollec-
tions of A. N. Welby Pugin, and his father, Augustus Pugin,"
by Benjamin Ferrey, published 1861. This is a semi-heraldic
design with martlets, and the motto " En Avant " running across
in diagonal bands. The next may be said to be Rossetti's design
for the cover of his sister's poems in 1862. Although neither was

133 M M

the next design from Morris's pencil, yet it was made at his
instance for the cover of his and Magnusson's translation of
" The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs." The pattern on the
side consists of flowers and flying birds on an arabesque ground ;
while that on the back, with conventional birds and rabbits, may
be taken~ to mark the highest point of the designer, Mr. Philip
Webb's, capacity in this line. There were twelve large paper
copies of the book, the title-page in most instances being orna-
mented with colour-decorations by Morris's own hand. His
first design for a cloth cover was the graceful pattern of foliage,
made in 1872, to be printed in gold on the cover of his poem,
" Love is Enough ; " his second for the edition of " The Earthly
Paradise," complete in one volume (1890) — a beautiful design
with willow sprays for the back and a device of somewhat oriental
outline on the side of the book.

Morris had always a strong feeling in favour of the art of
illumination, as may be gathered from the words which he puts
into the mouth of " A Good Knight in Prison " in " The Defence
of Guenevere." The captive declares that the worst misfortunes
that threaten fail to strike terror into him :

" Why, all these things I hold them just
Like dragons in a missal book,
Wherein, whenever we may look
We see no horror, yea, delight
We have, the colours are so bright ;
Likewise we note the specks of white,
And the great plates of burnish'd gold."

At the time that he resided in Queen Square, Morris used to
occupy himself on his own account, that is to say, independently
of the firm, with transcribing and illuminating. The Odes of
Horace, the heads in the angles of the first page from designs by
Burne-Jones, but otherwise without pictures, and transcribed
and ornamented entirely by his own hand, he retained in his own
possession; but the greater part of the fruits of his immense
industry in this branch of art he gave away. Lady Burne-Jones
is the owner of four of these works, the particulars of which are
as follows :

No. 1. A Book of Verse, by William Morris, written in
London, 1870. Bound MS. on paper. 4to. 51 numbered pages.
The title-page is illuminated and contains a medallion portrait head
of the author to left, inscribed, William Morris MDCCCLXX.
C. F. Murray pinx. The table of contents :

134

The Two Sides of the River.

The Shows of May.

The Fears of June.

The Hopes of October.

The Weariness of November.

Love Fulfilled.

Rest from Seeking.

Missing.

Prologue to the Volsung Tale.

Love and Death.

Guileful Love.

Summer Night.

Hope Dieth, Love Liveth.

Love Alone.

Meeting in Winter.

A Garden by the Sea.

The Ballad of Christine.

To Grettir Asmundson.

The Son's Sorrow.

The Lapse of the Year.

Sundering Summer.

To the Muse of the North.

Lonely Love and Loveless Death.

Birth of June.

Praise of Venus.
The second, third, fourth and fifth poems in this list were
published among the poems of the months in " The Earthly Para-
dise " for May, July, October, and November respectively. The
majority of the remaining poems appeared in " Poems by the
Way." The headpiece above the commencement of the first
poem was executed by the hand of Burne-Jones. An inscription
at the end of the book details by whom the various parts of the
work were carried out : " As to those who have had a hand in
making this book, Edward Burne-Jones painted the picture on
page i. The other pictures were all painted by Charles F.
Murray, but the minstrel figures on the title-page and the figures
of Spring, Summer, and Autumn on page 40, he did from my
drawings. As to the pattern work, George Wardle drew in all
the ornaments in the first ten pages, and I coloured it ; he also
did all the coloured letters both big and little ; the rest of the orna-
ment I did, together with all the writing. Also I made all the
verses ; but two poems, ' The Ballad of Christine,'and ' The Son's
Sorrow' I translated out of the Icelandic. (Signed) William
Morris, 26 Queen Sq :, Bloomsbury. London. August 26th 1870."

135

No. 2. The Story of the Dwellers in Eyr. Bound MS. on
Whatman's paper. Folio. 239 numbered pages, exclusive of the
index. The work begins with a Prologue, in four-foot measure,
consisting of two stanzas of fourteen lines each, and concludes
with an Epilogue, in the same measure, of 19 and 9 lines in
rhymed couplets. There are sixty-five chapters, and the whole is
written in a set script, the headlines, Prologue and Epilogue in
brown ink, the rest in black. The first page is elaborately illumi-
nated in gold. " Here beginneth the story of the Dwellers at
Eyr : And this first chapter telleth of Ketil Flatneb : and of how
he won the South Isles ; " and similarly, at the end of the text, is
illuminated in gold : " And thus endeth the story of the men of
Thorsness, the Dwellers of Eyr, and those who dwelt by Swan-
firth." This is followed by an index of names of people, in double
columns, 6 pages.

The floral ornament throughout the book is outlined in brown
ink, delicately tinted in with pale greens and blue greens, and
embellished more richly in parts with gold and silver. A note at
the end of the book in Morris's ordinary handwriting says : " I
translated this book out of the Icelandic with the help of my
master in that tongue, Eirikr Magnusson, sometime of Heydalr
in the East Firths of Iceland ; it was the first Icelandic book I
read with him. I wrote it all out myself, and did all the orna-
ment throughout the book myself, except the laying on of the
gold leaf on pp. 1, 230, and 239, which was done by a man named
Wilday, a workman of ours. (Signed), William Morris, 26 Queen
Square, Bloomsbury, London. April 19th, 1871."

No. 3. The Story of Hen Thorir, The Story of the Banded
Men, The Story of Haward the Halt. Translated and engrossed
by William Morris. Bound MS. on paper. Small 4to. 244 num-
bered pages. There is an illuminated title and large capital at
the beginning of each story. The work, which has no date nor
note concludes with : A Gloss in Rhyme on the story of Haward
by William Morris, consisting of 58 lines of heroic couplets. The
transcript is in black, with headlines and also the gloss in
brown ink. On the first page are illuminated the owner's initials,
G. B. J.

No. 4. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Bound in leather
with gold stamped ornament. 23 pages of fine vellum, covered
with text and ornament, with only the very narrowest margins
left plain. At the back of the last page is written : " I finished
my work on this book on the sixteenth of October, 1872. (Signed),
William Morris."

This last surpasses the others in the minute elaboration and

136

richness of its gold and coloured ornament ; in respect of which
generally, as in the other books, should be noted the extraordi-
nary power displayed in the treatment of natural forms— such
naturalness that each kind of flower or fruit may be recognized
clearly, at the same time that the effect is perfectly decorative :
and so far from being in any sense a reproduction or copy of old
work, it seems rather, by carrying on the art in accordance with
old traditions, to bring it to a stage of evolution of style in advance
of anything it ever attained before.

A larger and, on that account, more ambitious project than
any of the foregoing was the " Aeneid " of Virgil, which Morris
proposed to transcribe entirely with his own hand, and to adorn
with storied initials and other ornaments. The pictures at the
head of each book, and the figure subjects within the initials
were designed by Burne-Jones, and executed partly by Morris,
partly by Fairfax Murray. The Latin text is written in the style
of the eleventh century upon folio sheets of the finest vellum,
imported expressly from Italy. This work, undertaken in the
early seventies, was never finished. The leaves which comprise
the existing fragment of it belong to Mr. Fairfax Murray, who is
the owner also of a folio book of the Story of Frithiof, transcribed
by Morris in somewhat similar script to the last, and adorned
with illuminations by the same hand. Few only of these orna-
ments were ever completed. They consist of floral sprays exe-
cuted with exquisite delicacy of design and colouring; but for the
most part the outline only of the ornament has been roughed in
in pencil.

Thus from early times the germs of his printing press, itself
the logical and necessary outcome of ornamenting books by hand,
were present with Morris ; although pressure of other work,
more particularly his active propaganda of Socialism, intervening,
postponed their fruition for a season.

In November 1890, on the eve of the establishing of the Kelm-
scott Press, Morris caused to be printed for himself at the Chiswick
Press, in octavo size, " The Story of Gunnlaug Worm-tongue," in
Caxton type, blank spaces being left for the initials, that they
might be rubricated. This task, however, was never accom-
plished ; and consequently the edition, which consisted of three
copies on vellum, intended for private circulation, and 75 on
hand-made paper, for sale, was not issued at all ; in fact, most of
the sheets remained stored away, unbound.

Already the Chiswick Press had produced, under Mr. Morris's
direction, in December, 1888, " The House of the Wolfings," with
its striking title-page — striking, that is, at the time ; for the thing

137 N N

is done commonly enough now, once the way has been shown us
of making a title-page " a thing of beauty, and not the mere art-
less statement of a fad." But in 1888 it could only be done by
setting at nought all the received conventions of the printing
trade. " In every other book," says Mr. Joseph Pennell, " the aim
of the printer was, at that time, to get in as many opposing styles
as possible " and to hurl them down upon " the page in the most
absurd and inharmonious fashion." " In Morris's book," on the
contrary, " there is a perfect unity in the type itself, there is perfect
beauty in the way it is put on the page, and yet only one charac-
ter is used." He repeated his experiment in " The Roots of the
Mountains," in 1890.

Although, according to Mr. Herbert Home, it was as far back
as 1883 or 1884 that Morris had serious thoughts of setting up a
printing press of his own, " it was not until the year 1890, when
he bought a copy of Wynkyn de Worde's edition of the ' Golden
Legend ' that his intention took a practical form in the determina-
tion to reprint that famous work. From this time to the day of
his death Morris concentrated his best energies on the craft of
printing. With the help of his friend Mr. Emery Walker, he set
about to design and cast a new fount of type ; and to this end he
bought whatever incunabula he was able to procure, causing a
number of examples of the type, with which they were printed,
to be enlarged by photography to five times their original size.
In this way he studied not only their original forms, but the
causes also of the effect to which those separate letters contri-
buted in the composition of the page. . . . His invariable practice
in reviving any craft was to go back to the time when it was last
exercised in its highest perfection, to examine its processes in
the best examples, and then to apply them to existing needs and
circumstances, so far as that was compatible with good taste and
good workmanship." Having then compared and analyzed and
studied the various founts of type until he had mastered, with his
usual thoroughness, the ideal form and the underlying principles
that constitute the beauty of every letter of the alphabet, Morris
began to fashion his own type. Each single letter he designed
by his own hand ; on a larger scale at first, lest any blemish of
line or proportion might escape notice in little. He then had
them reduced by photography to the required working size, and
again submitted to him for final revision before being handed to
the typecutter. It may be mentioned here that Morris caused
the type to be cut under his immediate direction, and cast
by Sir Charles Reed and Sons. Those only who themselves
have tried to design letters, and who, in the process, have learnt

138

how slight a modification goes to the making or marring of the
perfect form, will appreciate the labour and patience involved in
designing two whole founts of type in upper and lower-case. Two,
for although Morris had nominally three founts, the Golden, the
Troy, and the Chaucer, the last two practically do not differ from
one another except in scale, the Troy type being larger than the
other one. They are both Gothic in style, as distinct from the
Golden type, which is roman. Consider first, then, the latter,
since it was designed first. In his paper on " The Ideal Book "
Morris goes into details with regard to the correct formation of
roman letters — details which may be quoted here, as they
embody some of the principal points which he observed in the
designing of his own type. For instance, " the full-sized lower-
case letters ' a,' ' b,' ' d,' and ' c ' should be designed on some-
thing like a square to get good results : otherwise one may fairly
say that there is not room enough for the design ; furthermore
each letter should have its due characteristic drawing ; the thick-
ening out for a ' b,' ' e,' ' g ' should not be of the same kind as
that for a ' d ' ; a ' u ' should not merely be an ' n ' turned upside
down ; the dot of the ' i ' should not be a circle drawn with com-
passes but a delicately drawn diamond, and so on. To be short,
the letters should be designed by an artist, and not an engineer."
The founts in general use at the present day are less the products
of a deteriorated tradition than of sheer commercial economy, the
object being to crowd as much lettering as may be into a given
space. Thus the ordinary letters are of a narrow and pinched
appearance, as compared with Morris's, which, as in the case of
the " m " and " n " for instance, are remarkably broad and strong.
In fact a general sense of breadth and squareness characterizes
his letters. His " o " does not follow the commonly received oval
outline, but is nearly a circle, with an oblique instead of the
usual vertical opening. In the head of his letter " c " he has got
rid of the usual ugly pear-shaped enlargement. The ceriphs,
which in ordinary type are either all thin throughout, or sliced
off to very near a point at the ends, are, it should be noted, in
Morris's letters strong and broad. It is also to be noted, as signi-
ficant of his unconscious bias towards Gothic forms, that the
ceriphs of his roman type are set, many of them, diagonally,
whereas they are horizontal in Jenson's letters, which Morris took
for his model.

But to continue with his remarks on " The Ideal Book," he
says that the hideous " Bodoni letter," with its " clumsy thicken-
ing and vulgar thinning of the lines," is " the most illegible type
that was ever cut," and it " has been mostly relegated to works

139

that do not profess anything but the baldest utilitarianism. ... It
is rather unlucky . . . that a somewhat low standard of excellence
has been accepted for the design of modern roman type at its
best, the comparatively poor and wiry letter of Plantin, and the
Elsevirs, having served for the model, rather than the generous
and logical designs of the fifteenth century Venetian printers, at
the head of whom stands Nicholas Jenson ; when it is so obvious
that this is the best and clearest roman type yet struck, it seems
a pity that We should make our starting point for a possible new
departure at any worse period than the best." Jenson was the
first Frenchman who brought the roman letter to perfection.
Morris then goes on to say that " except where books smaller
than an ordinary octavo are wanted "he would oppose "anything
smaller than pica." As to black letter, the kind introduced from
Holland and used in this country since the days of Wynkyn de
Worde, " though a handsome and stately letter, is not very easy
reading. It is too much compressed, too spiky, and, so to say,
too prepensely Gothic. But there are many types which are of a
transitional character and of all degrees of transition, from those
which do little more than take in just a little of the crisp floweri-
ness of the Gothic, like some of the Mentelin, or quasi-Mentelin,
ones (which, indeed, are models of beautiful simplicity), or, say,
like the letter of the Ulm Ptolemy, ... to the splendid Maintz
type, of which, I suppose, the finest example is the Schceffer
Bible of 1462." In another place Morris says : " The Middle
Ages brought caligraphy to perfection, and it was natural there-
fore that the forms of printed letters should follow more or less
closely those of the written character, and they followed them
very closely." He was also of opinion that " the capitals are the
strong side of roman, and the lower-case of Gothic letter." The
difficulty of constructing upper-case Gothic letters is one which
Morris seems scarcely to bave been completely successful in
overcoming. His M and N do not harmonize with the pro-
nouncedly Gothic aspect of the F, the L, the S, and the V ; while
the other letters, for the most part, incline rather to the Lombardic
style. His Arabic numerals, however, are altogether excellent,
both for clearness and for beauty. This is the place to point out
the fact of Morris's entire freedom from affectation of archaism
when archaism, no matter howso overwhelmingly strong a pre-
cedent it might show, would have meant endangering the legi-
bility of the work. For instance, he did not adopt the long form of
the lower-case " s," because it is liable to be confounded with an
"f": he employed tied letters but sparingly; and as to the
abbreviations, which constitute the main difficulty of reading

140

mediaeval books, he discarded them altogether. He did not even
print the catchword at the foot of the page.

As regards the aspect of the book, the " matter " in every case
will necessarily " limit us somewhat " says Morris. " A work on
differential calculus, a medical work, a dictionary, a collection of
a statesman's speeches, or a treatise on manures, such books,
though they might be handsomely and well printed, would
scarcely receive ornament with the same exuberance as a volume
of lyrical poems, or a standard classic, or suchlike. A work on
Art, I think, bears less of ornament than any other kind of book
{11011 bis in idem is a good motto) ; again, a book that must have illustra-
tions, more or less utilitarian, should, I think, have no actual orna-
ment at all, because the ornament and the illustration must almost
certainly fight. Still, whatever the subject matter of the book
may be, and however bare it may be of decoration, it can still be
a work of art, if the type be good, and attention be paid to its
general arrangement. . . . Well, I lay it down that a book quite
unornamented can look actually and positively beautiful ... if it be,
so to say, architecturally good. . . . Now, then, let us see what this
architectural arrangement claims of us. First, the pages must be
clear and easy to read ; which they can hardly be unless, Secondly,
the type is well designed ; and Thirdly, whether the margins be
small or big, they must be in due proportion to the page of letter."
There should be small whites between letters : what tends to
illegibility is not this sort of compression, but the lateral com-
pression of the letters themselves. The next consideration, of
great importance in the making of a beautiful page, is " the lateral
spacing of the words. . . . No more white should be" left "be-
tween the words than just clearly cuts them off from one another;
if the whites are bigger than this it both tends to illegibility and
makes the page ugly. ... If you want a legible book, the white
should be clear and the black black. . . . You may depend upon
it that a grey page is very trying to the eyes." As to the " posi-
tion of the page of print on the paper . . . the hinder edge (that
which is bound in) must be the smallest member of the margins,
the head margin must be larger than this, the fore larger still,
and the tail largest of all." These are the proper proportions, for
the simple reason that the unit of the book is not one page by
itself but the two corresponding pages of an open book, regarded
together. Morris then goes on to say that he is against large
paper copies, " though I have sinned a good deal in that way
myself, but that was in the days of ignorance." " Making a large
paper copy out of the small one " leads to a dilemma, that, " if the
margins are right for the smaller book, they must be wrong for

141 o o

the larger, and you have to offer the public the worse book at the
bigger price : if they are right for the large paper they are wrong
for the small, and thus spoil it, . . . and that seems scarcely fair to
the general public." The logic of this reasoning is unanswerable.
Morris would prefer, in any case where there are two prices, to
make some material difference in the work itself, so that the two
issues should not correspond so far as to rival one another, nor
occasion any dissatisfaction in the mind of those who had pur-
chased on the higher or the lower scale. Then, as to the orna-
ment, it " must form as much a part of the page as the type itself,
or it will miss its mark, and in order to succeed, and to be orna-
ment, it must submit to certain limitations, and become architec-
tural." Morris puts the matter thus in his Arts and Crafts essay :
" The essential point to be remembered is that the ornament,
whatever it is, whether picture or pattern-work, should form part
of the page, should be a part of the whole scheme of the book.
Simple as this proposition is, it is necessary to be stated, because
the modern practice is to disregard the relation between the
printing and the ornament altogether, so that if the two are help-
ful to one another it is a mere matter of accident." To resume,
" The picture-book is not, perhaps, absolutely necessary to man's
life, but it gives such endless pleasure, and is so intimately con-
nected with the other absolutely necessary art of imaginative
literature, that it must remain one of the very worthiest things
towards the production of which reasonable men should strive."

With the exception of the figure-subject illustrations, Mr.
Morris designed with his own hand every ornament for the
Kelmscott publications, from the minute leaves and flowers,
forming a sort of " glorified full-stop," to which exception has
been taken by some, to the large borders and titles for folio-size
pages. Although it is true that the same borders and initials do
sometimes recur in one and the same work (recur indeed too
often to please certain of the artist's critics) in many, perhaps in
the majority of instances, the ornaments were designed, one by
one, specially as required for any given page, and moreover with
a view to each one's position on the page. The artist would be
provided with a sheet of paper from the Press, ready set out with
ruled lines, showing the exact place and space wanted to be
occupied by initial, border or what not, and he would fill
accordingly. Morris designed the ornaments, not with a pen,
but with a brush. It was most usual during the last few years of
his life, on calling, to find him thus engaged, with his Indian ink
and Chinese white in little saucers before him upon the table, its
boards bare of any cloth covering, but littered with books and

142

papers and .sheets of MS. He did not place any value on the
original designs, regarding them as just temporary instruments,
only fit, as soon as engraved, to be thrown away. Many an exqui-
site design of this sort has been rescued from the waste-paper
basket by Morris's friend, Emery Walker. Morris used to keep
what he called a " log-book " of the Press, i.e. a book with a printed
specimen, by way of reference and record, of every ornament he
had ever designed for the Kelmscott Press. He included in the
collection those designs which, though executed, were not eventu-
ally used ; whether it was because an ornament in any given
case had proved unsuitable for the page for which it was origin-
ally intended, or because the artist adjudged it, after all, to fall
short of the high standard he demanded. For, as to the time and
trouble and expense wasted, these considerations counted nothing
with Morris ; if the result itself was unsatisfactory in his eyes, he
would not allow it to be used at all. The principal designs were
engraved on wood, under Morris's own supervision, by W. H.
Hooper ; the less important ornaments by C. E. Keates, W.
Spielmeyer, and a small number by G. Campfield.

Since no detail was overlooked that might contribute to make
the books of the Kelmscott Press as perfect as possible, Morris
paid particular heed to the kind of paper he used. He was no
advocate of thick paper, least of all in small books, but that it
should be of the first quality was an indispensable condition. He
disapproved strongly of machine-made papers of every sort, from
the frankly mechanical paper, with shiny, calendered surface, to
that which is made in such wise as to imitate handwork. He
was never tired of foretelling that the modern machine-made
papers of wood pulp and clay will perish, and the books made of
it may be expected ere long to be no more. It is essential, then,
that paper should be genuine hand-made material. But " at the
time Morris first set up the Press ..." says Mr. Herbert Home,
" there was no paper in the market so well suited to the purposes
of printing, of so fine a quality, and of so beautiful a colour and
texture, as that employed by the early printers, as the paper, for
example, which was ordinarily used by Aldus. To produce paper
which should equal that was Morris's first care ; but this was only
to be done by reverting to the plain and honest methods of the old
paper-makers ; by using unbleached linen rags, and by employing
a mould, in which the wires have not been woven with the
mechanical accuracy that gives to modern hand-made paper its
uninteresting character. The paper which Morris succeeded in "
getting was made expressly for him by Mr. Batchelor, at Little
Chart, near Ashford, and " resembles the paper of the early printers

143

in all its best qualities : it is thin, very tough, and somewhat trans-
parent ; pleasing not only to the eye, but to the hand also ; having
something of the clean, crisp quality of a new banknote." Even
so minute a detail as the pattern of the water-marks was the
object of Morris's careful attention. He designed himself the
three he used for paper of different sizes, viz., the apple, the
daisy, and the perch with a spray in its mouth, each of these
devices being accompanied by the initials W. M.

The quality of the ink was again a consideration that caused
Morris much anxiety ; the greyness of ordinary inks being a
serious defect in his eyes. The home-manufactured ink he used
first not being found black enough, he had to procure ink from
abroad for the later publications of the Press ; ink composed of
pure linseed oil and lampblack, and such that has excellent
drying properties. Morris purposed to mix his own inks, and
there is no doubt that, had he lived, he would have added this
undertaking to that of the printer's craft. The ink at the Kelm-
scott Press was applied by hand in the old way, with pelt-balls ; a
process which insures a more perfect covering of the surface of
the type, and consequently a richer and heavier black impression
than inking the type by mechanical means. In this connection
" it must be remembered . . . that most modern printing is done
by machinery on soft paper, and not by the hand-press, and . . .
somewhat wiry letters are suitable for the machine process, which
would not do justice to letters of more generous design."

Mr. Colebrook remarks, in his lecture printed in " The Printing
Times and Lithographer" (November, 1896), that "the proper
damping of sheets is a most important feature of the Kelmscott
printing. The paper used is extremely sensitive. Each sheet is
placed between two damping papers." Morris used the hand-
press alone at the Kelmscott Press, as it is hardly necessary to
state, the old method being also in his opinion the best for in-
suring an equable pressure of the paper upon the inked type.
The damping of the paper and the enormous pressure employed
in the hand-press necessarily reproduced a feature of old books,
to wit embossing, which gives sometimes pronounced evidence
of the page having been printed on either side. The proper
damping of the vellum sheets was a matter of special difficulty ;
and, in spite of the increased cost and greater durability of the
vellum copies, it may be questioned whether the paper copies,
with their rougher texture, are not superior in aesthetic appearance.
For it is impossible, on account of the somewhat greasy surface
of the vellum, to insure the ink always adhering and giving a
uniformly black impression throughout the printed page.

144

-ft*

As regards the binding of
the Kelmscott books, Morris
selected Leighton for this
purpose. Some books are
bound in half-holland, with
grey paper-covered mill-
board sides, while others are
bound in white vellum with
silk ties. It must be confessed
that, picturesque as it may
be in appearance, a book of
any weight, on account of
the limpness of its vellum
cover, is difficult to hold in
such a way that one may be
able to read it, unless it is
supported in both hands. For
his own use, whereas the
majority of copies are bound
in white, Morris preferred
vellum of a brownish tint.

The first book proposed
to be issued from the Kelm-
scott Press was " The Golden
Legend," but by some accident the paper intended for that work
proved unsuitable for the purpose, and Morris having to utilize it
somehow, it occurred to him to print a small edition of two
hundred copies of his " Story of the Glittering Plain." This book
then was the first that Morris printed. The first page was set up,
according to Mr. Herbert Home, on January 31st, 1891, which
marks practically the date of the foundation of the Kelmscott
Press. This was at No. 16, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the
immediate neighbourhood of Kelmscott House, and next door to
the house No. 14, in which the Press was subsequently estab-
lished. " The Story of the Glittering Plain " was finished on
April 4th. It was a plain edition, without illustrations, but its
successful reception showed Morris at once the opening there
was for books of the kind. Nearly three years later Morris pro-
duced, in Troy type, another edition of the same work enriched
with twenty-three pictures designed by Walter Crane, very
beautiful in themselves, but perhaps not quite free enough from
the suspicion of Renaissance influence to be altogether in keeping
with the Gothic character of the surrounding borders and other
ornaments in whose company they were set.

145 pp

EXTERIOR OF THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.

The second book that issued from the Kelmscott Press was
another of Morris's own works, " Poems by the Way," finished in
September, 1891. This book is printed in black and red. It con-
tains the earliest of the ornamental borders designed by Morris,
and betokens that he had not as yet developed his own peculiar
Gothic style for this sort of work. It has the unmistakable
character about it of Italian book ornaments of the fifteenth
century, a remarkable style, because it seems to point to a recur-
rence — whether intentional or not it is impossible to say— to a
kind of early Romanesque ornament, of which the main feature
consists rather of convolutions and somewhat intricate inter-
twinings of tendrils, as distinct from bold lines or masses of foliage.

There followed Mr. Wilfrid Blunt's " Love Lyrics and Songs
of Proteus ; " and next, " The Nature of Gothic, a Chapter of the
Stones of Venice." Morris felt very strongly that Ruskin's mag-
nificent prose English had never yet been presented in worthy
garb ; and the selection of this book therefore had a twofold aim,
viz., to show what might be done in the way of beautiful printing
of Ruskin's works ; in addition to the emphasizing of Morris's
deep sense, as he explained in the introduction he wrote and
printed along with the book, of the immense importance he
attached to this, which represents the very kernel of Ruskin's
teaching on the subject of Architecture. Next, finished in April,
1892, was published the Kelmscott Press edition of Morris's
" Defence of Guenevere ; " and, in the following month, his
V " Dream of John Ball and a King's Lesson." The frontispiece
is a woodcut design by Burne-Jones illustrating, appropriately
enough, the couplet :

" When Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman ? "

This fact is worth noticing, since it has been asserted, quite
erroneously, that the conception was due to a panel, one of ten,
by Jacopo della Quercia, that decorate the pilasters of the western
portal of San Petronio, in Bologna. Burne-Jones afterwards re-
drew this composition and it appeared as a cartoon, entitled
" Labour," in " The Daily Chronicle," February nth, 1895.

At last appeared, seventh in order of publication, the work
which had long been preparing, " The Golden Legend of Master
William Caxton, done anew," completed on September 12th, 1892.
This was the largest and most important work that had hitherto
been undertaken at the Kelmscott Press. It is of quarto size, in
three volumes, the pages numbered consecutively to 1286. The
last thirty-nine pages, after the lives of the Saints, comprise, first,

146

HERE BEGIN POEMS BY THE
WAY. WRITTEN BY WILLIAM
MORRIS. AND FIRST IS THE
POEM CALLED FROM THE UP.
LAND TO THE SEA.

HALL WE
WAKE ONE
MORN OF
SPRING,
GLAD AT
HEART OF
EVERY.
THING,
YET PEN-
SIVE WITH
THE THOUGHT OF EVE ?
Then the white house shall we leave,
Pass the wind-flowers and the bays,
Through the garth, and go our ways,
Wandering down among the meads
Till our very joyance needs
Rest at last; till we shall come
To that Sun-god's lonely home,
Lonely on the hill-side grey,
Whence the sheep have gone away;
Lonely till the feast-time is,
When with prayer and praise of bliss,
Thither comes the country side.

KELMSCOTT PRESS.

FIRST PAGE OF "POEMS BY THE WAY.'

" The Noble Historye of thexposicion of the Masse," and " the
Twelve articles of our feythe ; " then a list of some obsolete or
little used words, and, lastly, four pages of " Memoranda, Biblio-
graphical and Explanatory, concerning the Legenda Aurea of
Jacobus de Voragine, and some of the translations of it " from
the pen of Mr. F. S. Ellis, the editor of the Kelmscott edition.
A note at the end states that " no change from the original " has
been made in this edition, " except for correction of errors of the
press, and some few other amendments thought necessary for
the understanding of the text." It is printed in Mr. Morris's
Golden type, in black only. Beside the initial letters, borders,
ornaments, and the title-page in handsome black letter, on a
background of delicate arabesque outlines, all of which designs
exhibit Mr. Morris's matured Gothic style of book-decoration,
there are two woodcuts after Burne-Jones. The first, facing the
beginning of " The Storye of the Byble," is Adam and Eve stand-
ing with an Angel within the enclosure of Eden ; the second,
facing the first of " The Legendes of Sayncles," is the Redeemed
(whom, by some strange caprice, the artist has chosen to repre-
sent as of the fair sex alone, save one ambiguous being in the
right-hand corner) being welcomed by Angels into Paradise. It
may be mentioned, perhaps, as a singular circumstance, that in
no part of the book is there any intimation of the authorship of
these two illustrations. True, the advertisements of the work
announced the fact ; and, moreover, Burne-Jones's style is suffi-
ciently familiar to all contemporary connoisseurs to be unmistak-
able. But is it certain that anyone who comes across a copy of
this edition, say a hundred years hence, or later still, will know
by intuition — and that more particularly when at the corners of
both these illustrations is to be seen none other than the same
signature W, with which Mr. Morris was wont to identify many
of his own designs in the publications of the Kelmscott Press?
For the purpose of achieving the utmost possible accuracy in the
Kelmscott edition, Morris, on giving his bond for a large sum as
security, obtained from the syndics of the University Library at
Cambridge the loan of their valuable copy of the first edition printed
by Caxton in 1483. The whole of this work was transcribed for
the Press by the editor's daughter, Mrs. Paine, an immense labour,
and one that was performed with such care as to reduce the
number of necessary proof-corrections to a minimum ; while the
copy for the other Caxton reprints was type-written by Mrs. Peddie,
at the British Museum.

The next work, in two volumes quarto, was a reprint of the
first book printed in English, viz., " The Recuyell of the Historyes

148

of Troy," done after the first edition of Caxton. A fairly large
size of black letter was used for this work for the first time, and
hence was named by Morris the Troy type. The work is dated
October 14th, 1892. In the same month was finished Mr. Mackail's
" Biblia Innocentium ; " and on 22nd of the following month,
William Morris's " News from Nowhere," printed in black and
red, with a woodcut frontispiece, drawn by Mr. C. M. Gere, of
the Birmingham School of Art, being a representation of the
entrance-front of Kelmscott Manor House. A reprint of Caxton's
edition (1481) of "The Historye of Reynard the Foxe," printed in
Troy type, was finished in December, 1892. " The Poems of
William Shakespeare, printed after the original copies of Venus
and Adonis, 1593. The Rape of Lucrece, 1594. Sonnets, 1609.
The Lover's Complaint," edited by Mr. F. S. Ellis, and finished
on January 17th, 1893, preceded " The Order of Chivalry," trans-
lated by Caxton, together with " The Ordination of Knighthood,"
finished on February 24th, 1893. This volume, printed in the
small Gothic called the Chaucer type, is enriched with a wood-
cut frontispiece designed by Burne-Jones.

Next in order was George Cavendish's " Life of Cardinal
Wolsey," transcribed by Mr. Ellis from the autograph manuscript
of the author, now in the British Museum. The Kelmscott
edition was finished on March 30th, 1893. It was followed by
" The history of Godefrey of Boloyne and of the conquest of
Iherusalem," in folio size, done after Caxton's first edition ; printed
in Troy type in black and red, and having a decorative title de-
signed by W. Morris in similar style to the title of " The Golden
Legend."

On August 4th, 1893, was finished the reprint, in black and
red, of Ralph Robinson's English translation from the Latin of
Sir Thomas More's " Utopia." Of the 300 copies issued, 40 had
been ordered in advance by an Eton master, with the intention of
distributing them as prizes among the boys of the college, but
when the work appeared with a compromisingly Socialistic intro-
duction by Morris, the order, from motives of prudence, had to be
cancelled. However, the copies were all disposed of before a year
was out, so Morris did not suffer any loss.

In August, 1893, was finished Tennyson's " Maud ; " and on
September 15th " Sidonia the Sorceress," translated from the
German of William Meinhold by Lady Wilde. The author was
" a man so steeped in the history and social life of his country
during the period " of which he wrote, said Morris, " that he
might almost be said to have been living in it rather than in his
own, the early part of the present century. The result of his life

149 QQ

And wbyle tbey were besy in fygbtyng, tbey that
were cm b use bed sbold sodenly brehe and come by
byndeon tbemandfygbt,andso sbold tbey be en-
closed bytwene tbem within and them witboute,in
sucbe wyse that none sbold escape.

fi€Y t^> at herd tbise lettres & tbyse
messagers doubted tbem mocbe of
our peple,wberfor tbey acorded glad-
ly to this counseyl. Cbey assembled
tbem of Hallape, tbem of Cezayre,
tbem of fiaman, and of other cytees
about, tyl tbey were a grete nombre of peple, and
this dyae tbey the moost secrctely tbey mygbt, as
was to tbem commaunded, and began to departe
and approucbe Hntbyocbe. Hnd cam to a castel
named Daran t, wbicbe is fro tbens axiiij myle, there
tbey lodgedjand thought on tbemorne,assoneas
the scarmucbe sboldbe bytwene the pylgrymsand

PART OF PAGE FROM
PRESS MARK.

'GODEFREY OF BOLOYNE " AND THE KELMSCOTT

and literary genius was the production of two books : ' The
Amber Witch,' and ' Sidonia the Sorceress,' both of which, but, in
my judgment, especially ' Sidonia,' are almost faultless reproduc-
tions of the life of the past ; not mere antiquarian studies, but
presentations of events, often tragic, the actors in which are
really alive, though under conditions so different from those of
the present day. In short, ' Sidonia ' is a masterpiece of its kind,
and without a rival of its kind. . . . The present edition of the
book will answer satisfactorily " the " many questions " which
the two drawings of Burne-Jones, shown at the exhibition of his
works in the early part of 1893, caused to be asked. " Lady Wilde's
translation, which was the one," continues Morris, "through
which we made acquaintance with Meinhold's genius, is a good,
simple, and sympathetic one." The Kelmscott edition is in folio,
with beautiful borders at the beginning of the several books, with
initials and other ornaments in the margins, but it lacks the
attraction of an ornamental title-page. The work was certainly
less of a success than any publication that had preceded it from
the Kelmscott Press. But a generation that delights in intro-
spective fiction, spiced with theological debate ; whose popular
authors are Mrs. Humphry Ward, Sarah Grand, and Marie
Corelli, could scarcely be expected to find an old-world, objective
romance of the type of " Sidonia the Sorceress " congenial to its
taste. No wonder then that the sale was slow.

A small work, the first in i6mo, " Gothic Architecture," a
lecture by W. Morris, spoken at the New Gallery for the Arts and
Crafts Exhibition Society in 1889, was printed at the New Gallery
in one of the Kelmscott presses, to demonstrate the practical
method of hand-printing, during the Exhibition of the Society in
the autumn of 1893.

" Ballads and Narrative Poems " by Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
with a title in roman letters on an arabesque ground within a
vine border, was finished in October, 1893 ; and on December 16th,
the first of a series of translations of French tales of the thirteenth
century, to wit, " Of King Florus and the Fair Jehane," in black
letter with decorative title. It may be not uninteresting to record
that this one was selected by Mr. and Mrs. Tregaskis, the well-
known antiquarian booksellers, as a typical and appropriate
volume for the exercise of the binder's craft. For the purpose one
work only was taken, identity of subject and uniformity of size
insuring obviously the readiest unit of comparison of different
modes of binding. A century of copies, more or less, were bought
up and sent to all parts of the globe, without conditions as to the
kind of binding, save the general recommendation that each

15a

binder should
adopt whatever
style was most
characteristic of
his own locality
and of the mate-
rials at his dis-
posal. In due
course the copies
came back again,
bound in the
fashion peculiar
to divers coun-
tries and peoples,
and were shown
at the Interna-
tional Bookbind-
ing Exhibition
held at the Cax-
ton Head, Hol-
born, in 1894.
The seventy-five
specimens thus
gathered together
attracted no little
attention. They
were taken by
Royal command
to be inspected by
the Queen at
Windsor ; and eventually Mrs. Rylands purchased this unique
collection en bloc, thus saving it from the fate of dispersion.

The companion volumes to " King Florus " appeared at
intervals, one being entitled " Of the Friendship of Amis and
Amile ; " the other " The Tale of the Emperor Constans and of
Over Sea " — two stories in one volume, with each its own title-
page. The four completed Mr. Morris's repertory of this par-
ticular collection of stories. They were reprinted in 1896 by Mr.
George Allen, in one volume, under the title " Old French
Romances. Done into English by William Morris, with an intro-
duction by Joseph Jacobs," who however has not put them in
Mr. Morris's order, but has made the first and third tales change
places. From the introduction it appeared that the source
whence Morris derived the romances was " Nouvelles Francaises

153 RR

TITLE-PAGE OF

TALE OF OVER SEA."

KELMSCOTT PRESS.

en in war, and that the Com -
pan ions who bad conquered ft
were looking for chapmen to
cheapen their booty, and that
be was the first, or nearly the
first, to come who bad will and
money to buy, and the Com-
panions, who were eager to
depart, bad sold him thieves'
penny/worths: wherefore bis
share of the Upmeads treas-
ure bad gone far; and thence
he bad gone to another good
town where be bad the best of
markets for bis newly cheap-
ened wares, and bad bought
more there, such as be deemed
handy to sell, and so bad gone
from town to town, and bad
evertbriven,and bad gotmucb
wealth: and so at last having
heard tellof Slbitwalt as bet-
ter for chaffer than all be bad
yet seen, be and other chap-
men badarmed tbem,& waged
men/at/arms to defend them,
and so tried the adventure of
the wildwoods, and come safe
through.

7F)€T^ at last came the
[question toRalpbcon/
/cerning bis adventur/
es, and be enforced himself to
speak, and told all as truly as
be might, without telling of
the Lady and ber woeful end-
ingjtfFCbus they gave & took
in talk, and Ralph did what he
might to seem like other folk,
that be might nurse bis grief

in bis own heart as far asunder
from other men as might be
JP So they rode on till it was
even, and came toHIbitwall be/
fore the shutting of the gates
and rode into the street, and
found it a fair and great town,
well defensible, with high and
new walls, and men/at/arms
good store to garnish them j£F
Ralph rode with bis brother to
the hostel of the chapmen, &
there they were well lodged.
Chapter XtU. Richard talk -
ctb with Ralph concerning the
Slellat the World's end.Con/
cemingS >cvcnbam / 4* / 4£

~\fl the morrow
Blaise went to
his chaffer and
to visit the men
of the port at

thcGuildhalu be

bade Ralph come with him, but
be would not, but abode in the
ballof the hostel and sat pon/
dering sadly while men came
and went; but be beard no
word spoken of the Cdell at
the World's 6nd. tn like wise
passed the next day and the
next, save that Richard was a-
mong those who came into the
ball, and be talked long with
Ralph at whiles ; that is to say
that be spake, & Ralph made
semblance of listening.

Od as is aforesaid Ri/
chard was old & wise,
& be loved Ralph much

KELMSCOTT PRESS. PAGE FROM "THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END.'

en prose du XIIP me Siecle," by MM. L. Moland, and C. D'Heri-
cault, published in Paris in 1856, and that they could be traced
back to a remote origin in old Byzantium.

On February 20th, 1894, was finished a companion volume to
the " Ballads and Narrative Poems " of Rossetti, viz., his " Sonnets
and Lyrical Poems," with a similar title-page, only that in the
latter case the border was darker and more solid than in the first.
"The Poems of John Keats," with ornamental title, was finished
in March, 1894; anc * m May a folio edition of "Atalanta in
Calydon, a Tragedy made by Algernon Charles Swinburne," with
an ornamental title. The Greek characters used in the opening
verses are those designed for Messrs. Macmillan and Co. by
Mr. Selwyn Image. They are uncials only. For Sigma the
most antique form C is adopted. There are not any accents nor
aspirates. Thus it is a little puzzling at first, when, for example,
the word te or ae is elided, to see the Tau or Delta standing by
itself without the usual mark of elision. But the general effect
of the page is wonderfully beautiful. It would have been of
course in the highest degree incongruous in this sumptuous
volume to have employed the ugly modern type of Greek used in
school books and in Hellenic newspapers of the present day.

On May 30th, 1894, was finished the printing of a new romance
of Morris's, called " The Wood beyond the World," in his Gothic
type in black and red, with a woodcut frontispiece designed by
Burne-Jones. This work having been pirated in America, Morris
brought out a cheaper edition, published by Messrs. Lawrence
and Bullen, in 1895.

On Michaelmas Day was finished " The Book of Wisdom and
Lies," a collection, made in the eighteenth century, of Georgian
traditional stories, translated into English, with notes by Oliver
Wardrop. In the decorated title of this work, in roman characters
in white upon a black ground, with a vine border, is introduced an
escutcheon with the arms of Georgia, in Asia. This is noteworthy
as being the sole instance of a heraldic device among the published
designs of William Morris. Indeed, it is a very remarkable fact
that, with the strong predilection he had for mediaeval ornament,
one of its most familiar elements should, nevertheless, be almost
entirely absent from his decorative work. It is further to be
observed that, having chosen to make use of a shield in his com-
position, he should have taken, not the immature spade-form, like
an early English arch inverted, technically called Roman or
Heater shape, maintained by heralds to be the most correct, but
the fifteenth century elaborate, decorative, engrailed shape, a
douche, i.e. hollowed out in the dexter chief to make a lance-rest.

156

In November, 1894, was printed a rhymed version of the
Penitential Psalms, found in a manuscript of the Hours of our
Lady, written at Gloucester about the year 1440. This work,
transcribed and edited by Mr. Ellis, with the title " Psalmi Peni-
tentiales," had been advertised, in the previous April, as " A
Fifteenth Century English Hymn Book, being a paraphrase in
verse of the Seven Penitential Psalms, written in Gloucester
about A.D. 1420." About the same time was finished a letter in
Italian, by Savonarola, on the Contempt of the World, printed
for Mr. Fairfax Murray, the owner of the autograph letter, and
the designer of the frontispiece.

Next followed, at intervals, in three volumes, " The Poems of
Percy Bysshe Shelley," with a title to the first volume.

On January 10th, 1895, was finished " The Tale of Beowulf,
sometime King of the folk of the Weder Geats," done out of the
old English tongue by William Morris and A. J. Wyatt, in folio size,
with an ornamental title-page of Gothic lettering, on arabesques,
within a beautiful border. It may be mentioned, by the way, that
Morris thought very highly of this work. Indeed, he considered
it the finest poem surviving in the English language. Its lyrical
qualities, in his opinion, are admirable, although the epical qualities
of the poem in the present fragmentary state in which it has come
down to us are impaired ; and the whole would be less obscure if
all the stories to which references are made in the course of the
work were extant.

On February 16th, 1895, was finished the reprint of " Syr
Percyvelle of Gales," after the edition printed by J. O. Halliwell,
from the MS. in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral. The Kelmscott
edition of this poem is printed in black and red, in the Chaucer
type, with a woodcut frontispiece, designed by Burne-Jones.
Morris's " Life and Death of Jason " was reprinted on May 25th,
1895, with two woodcuts after Burne-Jones, and in July another
work by Morris — in prose this, and published now for the first
time — a romance, in two i6mo volumes, with decorative title,
named, " Of Child Christopher and Fair Goldilind."

On October 25th, 1895, was finished at the Kelmscott Press,
for Messrs. Way and Williams, of Chicago, Rossetti's " Hand and
Soul," a reprint, in small size, from " The Germ," with a roman-
letter title on light arabesque ground with an ornamental border.

On November 21st, was finished " Poems Chosen out of the
Works of Robert Herrick," with ornamental title, and edited from
the text of the edition put forth by the author in 1648. A uniform
edition of " Christabel and other Poems of Samuel Taylor Cole-
ridge," was issued also from the Kelmscott Press.

157 ss

On March 2nd,
1896, was finished
a new romance of
Morris's, entitled
"The Well at the
World's End," with
four woodcuts de-
signed by Sir Ed-
ward Burne-Jones.
The work is printed
inChaucertype,and
is the first to exhibit
a new feature in
Kelmscott books,
viz., double columns
with ornament be-
tween them. More-
over, the opening
words, instead of
the initials only, at
the heading of the
several divisions of
the work are treated
in an ornamental
design. This latter
feature appears
again in the Kelm-
scott edition of
Chaucer, which
work, in folio size, in black
begun in August, 1894, an d

TITLE-PAGE OF "HAND AND

SOUL."

KELMSCOTT PRESS.

and red, with double columns, was
finished in May, 1896, one press at
first, and subsequently two, being employed to produce it. This
large volume is altogether the most elaborate and most im-
portant that Morris issued from his Press. It contains eighty-
six pictures (the number of which was estimated originally at
about sixty), designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and engraved
on wood by Mr. W. H. Hooper. The title-page is from Mr. Morris's
own design, the drawing of which occupied him a fortnight. It
is worded : " the works of Geoffrey Chaucer now newly im-
printed," in large Gothic lower-case letters, shown up strongly in
white against a black background, broken by delicate white floral
ornament. The initials G and C are, however, of a fantastic form,
so out of harmony with the rest of the lettering that it is difficult
to conceive how the designer himself was satisfied with the effect

158

of this page. The word " Kelmscott," in beautiful Gothic letters,
is introduced in the ornament of the last page in a different manner
from any previous work of the Press ; being enclosed within
the border, whereas in the other books the printer's mark forms,
as it were, a detached colophon at the end of everything. The
work is further enriched with magnificent borders of Morris's
design. He also made fourteen designs forming a sort of inner
framework to the picture illustrations. It has been declared by
some critics that Mr. Morris went to great trouble to make each
of his ornamental borders in perfect harmony with the subject
matter of the page. At any rate, in the Chaucer this is con-
spicuously not the case. Thus, in the very first page of the
Prologue to " The Canterbury Tales," which open with lines
descriptive of April, we find a border of vines and ripe grapes.
Another designer belike would have been solicitous to fashion a
seasonable device out of catkins or primroses. But not so Morris ;
whatever occurred most spontaneously to the artist's hand to
design at the moment, that he did. For in him the decorative
instinct was so paramount that he could not be hampered with
the restriction of observing times and seasons and symbolic
significations; nor had he a mind for anything else save alone
the aesthetic effect of the page. So entirely, indeed, did this one
countervail — nay, override — every other consideration, that some-
times reasonable claims even were disregarded for the sake of it,
e.g. in the opening page of " Poems by the Way," of "Jason," or of
Tennyson's " Maud," in the Kelmscott editions. For it must be
owned, as a critic in " The Edinburgh Review " has pointed out,
that the practice " of printing poetry in continuous lines, as if it were
prose, instead of in verses, in order to fill up the page in a more
decorative manner ... is putting the make-up of the page before
the matter," and is undeniably confusing to the reader. " Poetry
is literary expression in verse," and one feels inclined to challenge
the right of the printer to transform it into "the semblance of
prose." This objection applies in a degree to Morris's master-
piece, the Kelmscott Chaucer. But "when criticism has done
its best," says "The Printing Times and Lithographer," "the
work is an admitted marvel. To have produced this book were,
of itself, enough for fame." It is, indeed, a monument. It has
been described by different writers as "the noblest book ever
printed;" "the finest book ever issued;" and " the greatest triumph
of English typography." In short, William Morris may be regarded
as "the Caxton of our day, who, with a fine confidence unshaken
by the grave pecuniary risks, carried the manufacture of books
back to its original condition of one of the fine arts. Price was

159

not to signify — the book was to be made ... as beautiful in print,
in paper, in binding, as it could be made."

As a supplement to the Chaucer was finished on August 21st,
1896, " The Flowre and the Leafe and the Boke of Cupide, God
of Love, or the Cuckow and the Nightingale," it having been
determined by competent scholars that these poems, generally
attributed to Chaucer, are not really his work. Rev. Professor
Skeat, indeed, has gone so far as to produce what looks like con-
clusive evidence that their real author is Sir Thomas Clanvowe.

On May 7th, 1896, was finished the first volume of a re-issue,
to be completed in eight volumes, of " The Earthly Paradise,"
with a title-page, new borders (occurring at the beginning of
each story), and special marginal ornaments to the poems of the
months. This work, advertised to appear one volume at a time,
at intervals of about three months, was still in progress at the
time of Morris's death, the first volume having been published in
July, 1896.

On July 7th, 1896, was finished " Laudes Beatae Mariae Vir-
ginis," Latin poems taken from a Psalter written in England
about A. D. 1220. This is remarkable as the first Kelmscott Press
book printed in three colours, black, red and blue — the latter
colour being a new experiment of Morris's. Rev. E. S. Dewick
has pointed out the interesting fact " that these poems were
printed in 1579, in a i6mo volume, with the title Psalterium
Divae Virginis Mariae, &c. . . . This Tergensee edition contains a
Conclusio of four verses in the same metre as the Aves, but the
text is otherwise inferior to that printed by William Morris. The
ascription of the authorship to Stephen Langton is doubly interest-
ing, as the manuscript transcribed for the Kelmscott Press was
probably written before his death in 1228."

On October 14th, 1896, was finished Spenser's "The Shep-
heardes Calender : conteyning twelve ^glogues proportionable
to the twelve monethes." In Golden type, with ornamental
initials but no borders, this edition is embellished with twelve
full-page designs by Mr. A. J. Gaskin of the Birmingham School.
Some, if not all, of these illustrations are zinco-process reproduc-
tions. The preliminary announcement of this work mentioned
the names both of the author of the poem and also of the artist
who drew the pictures, but — unaccountable omission — the book,
as published, contains no intimation of either. Those who know
will, without difficulty, recognize the initials A.J. G. in the corner
of each illustration, but for posterity there is no record.

Within less than a week of the death of its illustrious founder,
that the Kelmscott Press was about to close was bruited abroad.

160

TWO PAGES FROM THE
KELMSCOTT CHAUCER.

l6l T T

.4U

Butatte laste of Tarquiny she hem tolcte,
This rcwf ill cas, and al this thing horrible.
The wo to tellen hit were impossible,
That she and alle her frendes made atones.
HI badde folkes hertes been of stones,
f)Ct mighte have malted hem upon her rewe,
FJer herte was so wyfly and so trewe.
She seide, that, for her gilt ne for her blame,
Ber husbond sbolde nat have the f oule name,
That wolde she nat suffre, by no wey.
Hnd they answerden alle, upon hir fey,
That they foryeve bit her, for bit was right;
fii t was no gilt, hit lay nat in her might ;
Hnd seiden her ensamples many oon.
But al f or noght; for thus she seide anoon:
Be as be may, quod she, of forgiving,
X wol nat have no f orgift for nothing.
j^ But prively she caughte forth a knyf ,
Hnd tberwitbal she raf te herself her lyf ;
Hnd as she f el adoun, she caste her look,
Hnd of her clothes yit she hede took ;
for in her falling yit she hadde care
Lest that her feet or swiche thing lay bare ;
So wel she loved clennesse and eek trou the.
J&Qf her had al the toun of Rome routbe,

Hnd Brutus by her chaste blode bath swore
That Tarquin sbolde ybanisbt be tberfore,
Hnd al his kin ; and let the pepte calle,
Hnd openly the tale be tolde hem alle,
Hnd openly let carie her on a here
Through al the toun, that men may see & here |
The horrible deed of her oppressioun.
fte never was tber king in Rome toun
Sin thilke day ; and she was bolden there
H scint, and ever her day yhalwed dere
Hs in hir lawe : and thus endeth Lucresse,
The no ble wy f , as Titus bereth witnesse.
SpgiTeLL bit, for she was of love so trewe, I
|3Ka J^e in ber wille she cbaungedfornoneweJ
k^sslHnd for the stable berte, sad and kinde, f

That in these women men may alday finde ;
Tber as they caste hir herte, tber hit dwelleth.
for wel I wot, that Crist himselve telletb,
That in Israel, as wyd as is the lond,
That so gret f eitb in al the lond be ne fond
Hs in a woman ; and this is no lye.
Hnd as of men, loketb which tirannye
They doon alday ; assay hem who so tiste.
The trewest is f ul brotel for to triste.
explicit Legenda Jvucrecie Rome martins.

i^ci9izLeGe^DEHORm^eveEzr>e^es^8S£ff^s£ffS8SEf h

uee iw €rt*hl, jvunos,

OfCReTeKING,

NO«I COJVieTB TRY JvOT,

Nora cojMesToai of Tf>e

^HT f ORTBY SHK6 O^LY
aiRYTC X TTOS STORie,
BCIT f OR TO CL€pe H-

eeij* ajrco mcmoric
ofTBeseasTBBGReTe

ajSTTROClTfie Of LOVC;
f ORClBtCBTBe GODD6S

of Tne neveiM hbovc
Bei^r aiROTRe, hn*>
eiRecne bhjm thks f or

TBYSiwre.

Be ReeD f or SRHjviei

NO«u try vtf&e-

exjsfNe.

iXNOS, that was the mighty king of

[Crete,

1 That badde an hundred citees
stronge and grete,

To scole hath sent his sone Hndrogeus,
To Htbenes ; of the whiche hit happed thus.
That be was slayn, leming philosophye,
Right in that citee, nat but for envy e.
Ka^Mfie grete M»nos,of the wbicbe X speke,
ffl|^B«8 sones deetbis comen for towreke;
sslsj Hlcathoe be bisegeth barde and longe.
But natheles the walles be so stronge,
Hnd fttsus, that was king of that citee,
So chivalrous, that litel dredeth he;
Of Minos or bis ost took he no cure,

Til on a day befet an aventure,
That JVisus doghter stood upon the wat,
Hnd of the segesaw the man er at.
So happed bit, that, at a scarmishing,
She caste her herte upon Minos the king,
for his beautee and for his chivalrye,
So sore, that she wende for to dye.
Hnd, shortly of this proces for to pace,
She made M>nos winnen thilke place,
So that the citee was al at his wille,
To saven whom him list, or elles spille ;
Butwikkedly hequitte her kindenesse,
Hnd let her drencbe in sorowe and distresse
J*Jere that the goddes badde of her pite ;
But that tale were to longas now for me.

^Tfter* eS wan this king Minos also,
, Hnd Hlcathoe and other toun es mo ;
r Hnd this tbefFect,tbafM»nos hath so
driven

Bern of Htbenes, that they mote him yiven
fro yere to yere her owne children dere
for t o be slayn, as ye sbul after here.
JippfHS Minos bath a monstre, a wikked
|fp| beste,

uMm That was so cruel that, without areste,
HI ban that a man was brogbt in his presence,
Be wolde him etc, ther belpeth no defence.
Hnd every thridde yeer, witbouten dou te,
They casten lot,and,as hit com aboute
On ricbe, on pore, he moste his sone take,
Hnd of his child he moste present make
Unto M^nos, to save him or to spille,
Or lete his beste devoure him at his wille.
Hnd this bath Minos don, right in despyt;
To wreke bis sone was set al bis delyt,

SfcZ

neeRe BiGYwecn cne jsrowes pReesces zelg of
\zns cok and newcfiflajrcecLeeR hjntc> peRxreLotre^

Curteys she was, discreet, and debonaire,
Hnd compaignable,and bar byrself so faire,
Syn tbilke day that she was seven nygbt oold,
"Chat trewely she bath the berte in hoold
Of Cbauntecleer loken in every titb ;
Re loved hire so, that wel was bym tberoitb.
But swicbe a joye was it to here bem synge,
CQhan that the brighte sonne gan to sprynge,
In sweete accord, jviy lief is f aren in londc Jf
for tbilke tyme, as I have understonde,
Beestes and briddes koudc speke and synge.
8§|jglW so bif el, that in the dawenynge,
sSpjIfc Hs Cbauntecleer among bis wy vea aUe
WMR Sat on bis percbe, tbat was in the balle,
Hnd next bym sat this faire pertelote,
Cbis Cbauntecleer gan gronen in bis tbrote,
Hs man tbat in bis dreem is drecched soore.
Hnd wban tbat pertelote thus berde bym
roore,

She was agast, and seyde, O berte deer e f
Glbat eyletb yow, to grone in this manere ?
\t been a verray sleper ; fy, for shame I
jPHnd be answerdeand seyde tbus : Madame,
I pray yow tbat ye tahe it not agrief ;
By God, me tbougbtelwas in swich mescbief
Right now, tbat yet myn berte is sooreafright.
J^ow God, quod be, my swevene reccbe aright,
Hnd hepe my body out of foul prisoun.
JVfe m ettc, how that I roomed up and doun
dithinne our yeerd, wheeras I saugh abeest
Slas lyk an hound, and wolde ban maad areest
Clpon my body, and wolde ban bad me deed.
Ris colour was bitwixe yelow and reed ;
Hnd tipped was his tayl,and botbe his eeris,
HIitb blah, unlyh the rem en an t of his beer is ;
Ris snowte smal, with glowynge eyen tweyc.
"Yet of bis looh for feerealmoostt deye,*
■Cbis caused me my gronyng, doutelees.
^Hvoy t quod she, fy on yow, bertcleesf
Hllas f quod she, for by that God above f

fow ban ye lost myn berte and al my love,
kan nat love a coward, by my f eitb f
for certes, whatso any womman seith,
3Qe alle desiren, if it myghte bee,
■Co han housbondes hardy, wise, and free,
Hnd secree, and no nygard, ne no fool,
T*e bym tbat is agast of every tool,
fie noon avaun tour, by tbat God above 1
Row dorste ye seyn,for shame, unto your love
Chat any tbyng myghte make yow af erd ?
Rave ye no mannes berte, and ban a berd ?
Hllas f and konne ye been agast of swevenys?
]Notbyng, God woot, but vanitee, in swevene is.
Swevenes engendren of replecdouns,
Hnd of te of f ume,and of complecciouns
CQban humours been to habundant in a wight.
^^^CR^eS this dreem, which ye ban met
H^HB tonygbt,

POVRC wydwe,som-
delstapeinage,
Staswbilom dwellyng
in a narwe cotage,
Beside a greve, stond-
yngeihadale.
Cbis wydwe, of which X
telle yow my tale,
Syn tbilke day that she
waslastawyf,

In pacience (adde a f ul symple lyf ,

for litel was hir catel and bir rente.

By bousbondrie, of swicb as God hire sente,

She foond hirself , and eek hire doghtren two.

Cbre large sowes hadde she, and namo;

'Chree keen, and eek a sheep that highteJMalle.

f ul sooty was bir bour, and eek hire balle,

In which she eet f ul many a sklendre meel;

Of poynaunt sauce hir neded never a deeL

T^o deyntee morsel passed tburgb bir tbrote ;

Rir diete was accordant to bir cote.

Repleccioun ne made hire nevere sik,

Httempree diete was al hir phisik,

Hnd exercise, and bertes suffisaunce.

•Cbe goute lette hire notbyng for to daunce,

ffapoplexie ne sbente nat hir heed ;

]*Jo wyn ne drank she, neither whit ne reed ;

Rir bord was served moos t with whit and

blah,

Milk & broun breed, in which she foond no lah,

Seynd bacoun, and somtyme an ey or tweyc,

for she was, as it were, a man er deye.

Y66RD she hadde, enclosed ataboute
Cditb stikkes, and a dry e dycb withoute,
In which she hadde a coh, beet Cbaun te-

cleer.

In al the land of crowyng nas his peer.

Ris voys was murier than the murie orgon

On messe'dayes tbat in the cbircbe gon ;

del sikerer was his crowyng in bis togge,

TTban is a clokke, or an abbey orlogge.

By nature be knew eche ascencioun

Of thequynoxial in tbilke toun ;

for wban degrees fif ten e were ascended,

TTbanne crewe be, tbat it myghte nat been

amended.

Ris coomb was redder than the fyn coral,

Hnd ba tail led, as it were a castel wal ;

Ris byle was blak, and as the jeet it shoon ;

ky k asure were his legges, and his toon ;

Ris nayles whiter than the lylye flour,

Hnd lyk the burned gold was his colour.

RppRIS gen til cok hadde in his govemaunce

t&iH Seven e bennes, for to doon al his

ksiSplesaunce,

SIbicb were his sustres and his paramours,

Hnd wonder lyk to bym, as of colours ;

Of wbicbe the f aireste hewed on bir tbrote

<Das cleped faire damoysele pertelote.

Cometh of the grete superfluytee

The statement, once having found its way into print, was copied,
with variations and added details more or less inaccurate, by one
newspaper after another, and was for some weeks allowed to
circulate unchallenged. Those of the public who were sympa-
thetic awaited — some of them with almost breathless anxiety — an
authoritative confirmation of the report, dreading, and yet unwill-
ing to believe, that the days of the Kelmscott Press were inevit-
ably numbered after all. But at last an official notification from
headquarters, coupled with an order form for " The Shepheardes
Calender," in which notice, dated November 12th, 1896, some few
works already advertised were announced as shortly to be issued,
others as abandoned, seemed to set aside all uncertainty as to the
approaching end of the Press ; and an article to that effect
appeared in " The Academy " of December 12th. Then, and not
till then, was it elicited, in the shape of a letter addressed to " The
Academy " by the late Mr. Morris's secretary, that the future of
the Kelmscott Press was still under consideration on the part of
the trustees. However, the greatest loss, and one which book-
lovers must never cease to regret is the definite abandonment of
the folio editions of Froissart and of " Sigurd the Volsung." On
the latter, as the one of which its author was most proud among
all his poetical works, he had intended to lavish the choicest de-
coration. However, not much progress had been made with it.
It was to have been embellished with forty woodcuts designed
by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, in addition to new borders and other
ornaments by Mr. Morris himself. The first announcement of
this work had been made in November, 1895, when the number of
woodcuts proposed was set down at about five-and-twenty. A
later circular, dated February 16th, 1897, announced a small folio
edition of this work, with two woodcuts only, designed by Burne-
Jones. For " The Cronycles of Syr John Froissart " Mr. Morris
had elected to reprint Lord Berners's translation from Pynson's
edition of 1523 and 1525. This work had been advertised as in
preparation in August, 1893, and as in the press in April, 1894 —
although, in subsequent notices, it is true, it was referred to only
as in preparation. The fact of its having reached, by the time of
Mr. Morris's death, a fairly advanced stage, makes its withdrawal
all the more to be deplored. It was to have appeared in two
volumes, with double columns and ornaments, the latter designed
by Morris in a manner that recalls fourteenth century illumina-
tions. The borders included shields with the armorial bearings
of the various personages named in the course of the chronicle.
The tinctures were to be in plain black and white, according to
the most ancient system of representation. For it would have

165 u u

been an obvious ana-
chronism to indicate
them by dots and
lines, hatchings, and
so on, as our modern
practice is to do,
which cannot be
traced back farther
than the first quarter
of the seventeenth
century.

The latest circu-
kelmscott press mark. lar announces as

nearly ready the Kelmscott edition of " Sire Degravaunt," an
ancient English metrical romance from the Thornton MS. at
Lincoln, with a woodcut designed by Burne-Jones. The prepara-
tion of this work, which is uniform with the " Syr Percyvelle," from
first to last has spread over a considerable time. " Sire Isumbras,"
uniform with the above and from the same source, will follow.
A romance of Mr. Morris's, " The Water of the Wondrous Isles,"
uniform with " The Well at the World's End," is in the press ; and
a still more recent one, in fact, the last he ever wrote, viz., " The
Sundering Flood," is in preparation. This work, according to
Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton, " will be found to be finer than any
hitherto published." It is of about the same length as " The Wood
beyond the World," but unlike that work has lyrics interspersed.
Among the other works which have at various times been
announced as in contemplation or in preparation at the Kelmscott
Press, although they have not made their appearance, may be
named a collection of Poems by Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton;
" The Tragedies, Histories and Comedies of William Shake-
speare," in three folio volumes, a reprint, edited by F.J. Furnival,
from the first complete edition in folio ; and "Vitas Patrum," being
St. Jerome's Lives of the Fathers of the Desert, translated into
English by William Caxton during the last years of his life, and
printed at Wynkyn de Worde's press in 1495. This work, which
has never hitherto been reprinted, was to have formed two large
4to volumes, uniform with the " Golden Legend." It is impossible
to say what other books Morris might have produced had not death
interrupted his work ; but it isbelieved that he had some intention of
reprintingacollection of old English Ballads, " Gesta Romanorum "
and Malory's " Morte d'Arthur." There was also in preparation " A
Catalogue of the Collection of Woodcut Books, Early Printed Books
and Manuscripts at Kelmscott House, with Notes by William

166

Morris," and upwards of 50 illustrations, being reproductions
selected from the typical works in Mr. Morris's library. This
work should have been especially remarkable, for his expert know-
ledge and discrimination had enabled him, during the few years
he had been practically interested with printing, to gather
together a library in artistic, if not in pecuniary value, second to
no private collection in the land. He did not seek for rare speci-
mens but for beautiful ; and, having obtained, he treated them
with loving, and something near akin to reverential, care ; and,
as they had been the constant companions amongst which the
later years of his life were spent, so, on October 3rd, 1896, he
passed away, surrounded by books to the last.

167

ANGEL WITH SCROLL.

Cartoon for decorative Painting, from the orig.nal

in the possession of Mr. C. Fairfax Murray.

.JJ0303 HTIW J3DWA

Ic/iijjho aril ra "loosb iol nooMsO

.^STIuM .1MI0 noisaaaeoq sdl ni

.33JIT aaTWiAqc

III.

HAND PAINTED TILES.
Daisy Pattern.

IT CJ3TMIA'

IV.

WALLPAPER.
The Daisy Design.

■ .. ■

WALL-PAPER.

The Trellis Design (the Birds designed by

Philip Webb).

•AW

VII.

WALLPAPER.
The Vine Design.

.I1V
JAW

VI.

WALLPAPER.
The Marigold Design.

VIII.

WALL-PAPER.
The Acanthus Design.

[]

J JAW

.ngiaaCt eudsnr.oA srfT

IX.

WALL-PAPER.
The Apple Design.

.HS-'-I ■■..■.
.ngissQ MqqA sriT

CEILING PAPER.

Specially designed for St. James's Palace.

XI.

WALL-PAPER.

Specially designed for St. James's Palace.

.IX

.aaqAq-jJAw

f.'uaqZ

XII.

WALL-PAPER.

The Wild Tulip Design.

] JAW
.tr%iaaa qilol .

XIII.

WALL-PAPER.
The Bruges Design.

.nix
.siaqAq-jjAW

XIV.

WALL-PAPER.

The Pink and Rose Design.

.VIX

.aaqAi-jJAw

XV.

CHINTZES.

The Bird and Anemone, and

The Strawberry Thief Designs.

.vx

.'{ 91IT
2 atiT

XVI.

CHINTZ.

The Honeysuckle Design.

■

WIHO

I 9fiT

XVII.

CHINTZ.

The Wandle Design.

.II vx

■
■ ■

XVIII.

CHINTZ.

The Wey Design.

.IIIVX
.STMIHO

.XIX

.wagTavjav aaTninq

.. i ; ■

XX.

PRINTED VELVETEEN.

The Cherwell Design.

.XX

.j.av aarwifis:

XXI.

VELVET BROCHE WITH GOLD TISSUE.

.auaaiT a ■ htiw aHoo«a Tavjsv

XXII.
SILK.
The St. James' Design.

JUXX

.nixx

■ • ;

XXIV.
SILK.
The Cross-twigs Design.

.»Jie

.ngiaaQ esiwJ-eaoiO srfT

XXV.

WOVEN WOOL TAPESTRY.

The Tulip and Rose Design.

.YHT2aiAT JOOW M3

XXVI.

WOVEN SILK AND WOOL TAPESTRY.

The Anemone Design.

.I1VXX

•saiAT joow wavow

... [390 JJ / ' ;

XXVIII.

WOVEN WOOL TAPESTRY.

The Peacock and Dragon Design.

.■■"■•'■

- " . a : •■:■..-..

XXIX.

WOVEN SILK AND WOOL TAPESTRY.

The Dove and Rose Design.

.XIXX

.YHTgaiAT JOOW dWA JJJI3 H3VOW

XXX.

KIDDERMINSTER CARPET.

The Lily Design.

.XXX

.T3qflA0 HaTawiMHaacnx

XXXI.

SKETCH DESIGN FOR HAMMERSMITH

CARPET.

Small Barr Pattern.

HTIMSH3MMAH SJO^ MOiaaO HOT3XK

THAO

XXXII.

SKETCH DESIGN FOR HAMMERSMITH

CARPET.

The Little Flowers Pattern.

.nxxx

HTIM8H3MMAH StCr! W0I83CI HO

XXXIII.

SKETCH DESIGN FOR HAMMERSMITH

CARPET.

Buller's Wood Pattern.

.11

HTlMg

•13A0
■■ i .oWs'-isIioa

XXXIV.

HAMMERSMITH CARPET.

The Black Tree Pattern.

.VIXXX
MM AH

r.l3 atiT

mgim

immMM^MiM&i

XXXV.

HAMMERSMITH CARPET.

The Little Tree Pattern.

.vxxx

.TaiHAO HTIM8H3MMAK

>-j>mm&m:,-

XXXVI.

HAMMERSMITH CARPET.

The Redcar Pattern.

.IVXXX

.T31JJA0 HTIM833MMAH

XXXVII.

ARRAS TAPESTRY.

The Orchard.

.IIVXXX
.YHTaaiAT 3AJ

.b-iEtfaiO eiriT

W. Griggt, Collatypsr, Peekb

XXXVIII.

ARRAS TAPESTRY.

The Woodpecker.

XXXIX.

EMBROIDERED HANGING.

Executed in coloured silks upon yellow linen.

.XIXXX
.nanil vtollz- ■ bsiuolos m

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.

NOTE.

IN the bibliography which follows, I have included not only
all the writings of William Morris which were published
separately in book and pamphlet forms, but broadsides, articles
in magazines, and letters to the newspapers. In addition to these
there will be found complete descriptions and collations of the
books issued from the Kelmscott Press, as well as essays and
articles about William Morris by other writers. Where I could,
I have included the best reviews and obituary notices, giving in
all cases the names and dates of the journals and magazines in
which these appeared.

The task has not been an easy one, and would have been but
imperfectly performed without the assistance of others. For such
help I have especially to thank Mr. Alfred Forman, who in read-
ing the proof-sheets has had the inestimable advantage of referring
to Mr. H. Buxton Forman's unsurpassed collection of Morris-
books and pamphlets. Mr. F. S. Ellis has supplied me with a few
bibliographical details.

To Mr. Frederick H. Evans I am also indebted for suggestions
and help. Finally, my thanks are due to Mr. Aymer Vallance
and to Mr. Gleeson White.

TEMPLE SCOTT.

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE ORIGINAL
WRITINGS TRANSLATIONS AND PUB-
LICATIONS OF WILLIAM MORRIS.

I. ORIGINAL POEMS.

Sir Galahad a Christmas Mystery. By
William Morris.

London: Bell and Daldy, 186, Fleet
Street. 1858.

Sm. 8vo. sewed. Half-title, one leaf; title, one
leaf; 7 leaves of text and one blank leaf.
The half-title and the blank leaf at the end form
a wrapper to this booklet. The last two leaves
are pasted on, forming what might be called an
" out-set."

The pagination is through, to p. 18.
The only copy I have ever seen is that from
which the above description and collation were
obtained. There is also an unauthorized fac-
simile reprint, which differs from the genuine
work in several very small printers' errors.

The Defence of Guenevere and other
Poems. By William Morris.
London : Bell and Daldy, 186, Fleet
Street. 1858.

Sm. 8vo. Half-title, title, dedication, and con-
tents, 4 leaves (small slip of "Errata" pasted
after contents on verso of its leaf;; B — R 4 in
eights.

In 1875 Ellis and White issued 25 copies on
large paper.

The volume was reprinted by Mr. Morris at the
Kelmscott Press in 1892. See Kelmscott Press
Pubs. Bibl. In 1875 Roberts of Boston, U.S.A.,
issued an edition in cr. 8vo. at 2 dollars.

The Life and Death of Jason a Poem
by William Morris

London ; Bell and Daldy, York Street,
Covent Garden. 1867.

Sm. 8vo. Half-title, title, 2 leaves. B — AA in
eights (last two leaves consist of advts. and
blanks). On back of title should be pasted a
small list of " errata."

Of the i86g edition (printed by Ellis and White
from the stereotyped plates) there was a small
issue on large or thick Whatman paper; and of
the eighth (revised) edition (1882) there were 25
copies printed on large paper also. Roberts of
Boston, U.S.A., published an edition in 1867 in
i6mo. ; but in 1885 Clarke and Maynard of New
York issued one in wrappers for 12 cts.
Reprinted by Mr. Morris at the Kelmscott Press
in 1895. See Bibliography of Kelmscott Press
Publications.

Life and Death of Jason. By William
Morris. Prepared, and Printed, solely
for the Use of Pupils of Irvine Academy.
Irvine : Times Office, John S. Begg,
Printer. MDCCCLXXIX.

Sm. 8vo. pp. 58 (incl. title) and one blank leaf.

The Earthly Paradise A Poem [Wood-
cut.] By William Morris, Author of
The Life and Death of Jason.

Ellis, 33 King Street,
MDCCCLXVIII. \AU

London: F. S.
Covent Garden.

rights reserved.]

[This is the general title to the book. There is
a second title, printed on toned paper, which has
below the author's name the words "Parts I.
and II." and the date is "MDCCCLXX."
Vol. II. has "Part III.," and the date is also
" MDCCCLXX." Vol. III. has " Part IV.," and
the date is also " MDCCCLXX."]
Sm. 8vo. Vol. I. : one blank leaf; half-title,
general title, and title to Parts I. and II.,
3 leaves; dedication and contents, 2 leaves;
B — XX 2 in eights, and one leaf containing a re-
production of the woodcut on the title-page, on
recto. This block, designed by E. Burne-Jones,
was engraved by W. Morris for the first edition.
It was re-engraved by G. Campfield for the later
editions.

Vol. II. : half-title, title, and contents, 3 leaves ;
B — LL in eights, last leaf containing a repro-
duction of woodcut on the title-page, on recto.
Vol. III. : half-title, title, and contents, 3 leaves ;
B — FF 6 in eights, last leaf containing on recto
a reproduction of the woodcut on the title-page.
Vol. I. is printed on a thin white paper; Vols.
II. and III. on a thickish toned antique laid
paper.

There was also an edition on large paper of 25
copies.

Some copies (probably 500) of the first edition of
the first part contain cancel leaves — notably
PP- 75" 6 - On p. 75, 1. 20, was a ludicrous mis-
print of " my " for " thy."

The poem is now being issued in eight vols,
from the Kelmscott Press. See Kelmscott
Press Pubs. Bibl.

Roberts of Boston, U.S.A., issued in 1868-71 an
edition in i6mo., 3 vols., another in cr. 8vo., 3
vols., and a Popular Ed. (later) in i6mo. In 1877
he reissued the first two editions. In 1870
Roberts of Boston published separately as a
i6mo. volume the " Lovers of Gudrun."
Messrs. Reeves and Turner, when they took over
the publication of Mr. Morris's books, issued a
"library edition" in 4 vols. 8vo., and later a
" popular edition " in 10 parts sm. cr. 8vo.

The Earthly Paradise A Poem, by

William Morris.

London Reeves and Turner 196 Strand

1890.

8vo. One leaf advt. ; half-title, title, dedication,
contents, 4 leaves; A — 2 E in eights (last leaf
blank). Bound in cloth, with a design by W.
Morris.

Love is Enough or The Freeing of

Pharamond a Morality. By William

Morris.

London : Ellis & White, 29 New Bond

Street. 1873.

Sq. sm. 8vo. (floral design by W. Morris in gold
on cloth, cover.) One blank leaf; half-title and

111

title, 2 leaves; "Dramatis Personae," one leaf;
B — K 4 in eights (last leaf consists of advts.).
Twenty-five copies were also published on
large paper.

Roberts of Boston, U.S.A., issued in 1872 two
editions, one in i6mo., the other in cr. 8vo.

The Two Sides of the River Hapless
Love and The First Foray of Aristo-
menes. By William Morris.
London 1876 [Not for Sale.']

Sm. 8vo. 24 pp. (including half-title, title, and
one blank leaf at end); bound in green paper
wrapper with half-title in printer's rules frame.
Without printer's name. Of these three poems
the first was reprinted in the volume, " Poems
by the Way " in 1891.

The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and
the Fall of the Niblungs. By William
Morris, Author of * The Earthly Para-
dise.'

London : Ellis and White, New Bond
Street. MDCCCLXXVII.

Sq. cr. 8vo. Half-title, title, and contents, 4
leaves ; B — CC 4 in eights.

Of the original edition there was a large paper
issue of 25 copies.

Mr. Morris had arranged for an edition of this
poem to be printed at the Kelmscott Press. See
Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

Of the fourth edition published by Reeves and
Turner there was also a large paper issue of 50
copies.

In 1876 Roberts of Boston, U.S.A., issued an
edition uniform with the English edition — re-
printed in 1879.

" Wake London Lads "

Air " The Hardy Norseman's Home

of Yore "

Five stanzas of eight lines each, signed William
Morris, printed on a broadside for distribution
at an Exeter Hall meeting, January 16th, 1878.

Socialists at Play. By William Morris.
Prologue spoken at the Entertainment
of the Socialist League : South Place
Institute, June 11, 18S5.

Sm. 8vo. 8 pp. (half-title, title, and text), in red
paper cover. Originally appeared in the " Com-
monweal."

Democratic Federation.

Chants for Socialists : No. 1. The Day

is Coming. By William Morris, Author

of "The Earthly Paradise," etc. Price

One Penny.

London : Reeves, 185, Fleet Street, E.G.

Sm. 8vo. 8 pp. and 4 pp. buff wrapper.

The Voice of Toil : All for the Cause.

Two Chants for Socialists. By William

Morris.

London : Reprinted from " Justice,"

The Organ of the Social Democratic

Federation. (Price One Penny, n.d.)

Sm. 8vo. 8 pp. in primrose wrapper (no proper
title-page except that on wrapper).

The Socialist League. [With headpiece designed
by Walter Crane.]

Chants for Socialists by William Morris.

Contents :

5. The March of the

Workers.

6. The Message of the

March Wind.

1. The Day is Coming.

2. The Voice of Toil.

3. All for the Cause.

4. No Master.
Price One Penny.

Published at The Socialist League
Office, 27 Farringdon Street, London,
E.C. 1885.

8vo. 16 pp. in pamphlet form, without wrappers.
" The Voice of Toil " first appeared in "Justice,"
April s, 1884; "All for the Cause" in "Jus-
tice," April ig, 1884 ; " No Master" in "Justice,"
June 7, 1884; " The March of the Workers " in
"Commonweal," February, 1885. "The Mes-
sage of the March Wind" also appeared in
" Commonweal."

All the poems in this edition of " Chants for
Socialists," except Nos. 4 and 5, were reprinted
in " Poems by the Way."

The Socialist League,
by Walter Crane.]

Chants for Socialists
Morris.

Contents

[With headpiece designed

By William

The Day is Coming.
The Voice of Toil.
The Message of the
March Wind.

No Master.
All for the Cause.
The March of the
Workers.

Down Among the Dead Men.

London : Socialist League Office, 13
Farringdon Road, Holborn Viaduct,
E.C. 1835.

Price One Penny.

Sm. 8vo. 16 pp. in pamphlet form, without
wrappers. This is a later edition, with an addi-
tional poem.

"Down among the Dead Men" was not re-
printed in " Poems by the Way."

A Selection from the Poems of William
Morris. Edited with a Memoir by
Francis Hueffer.
Leipzig Bernhard Tauchnitz 1886

[Collection of British Authors, Tauchnitz Edi-
tion. Vol. 2378.]
i6mo. pp. 320 and 16 pp. advts.
Includes selections from " The Defence of
Guenevere," "Life and Death of Jason," "The
Earthly Paradise," " Love is Enough," and
" The Story of Sigurd the Volsung."

The God of the Poor. By William
Morris, author of " The Earthly Para-
dise." Originally published in the
" Fortnightly Review," August 1, 1868.

[On wrapper is the following imprint : — ] London :

Printed at the Office of "Justice," The Organ of

the Social Democratic Federation. (Price One

Penny.)

Sm. 8vo. 8 pp. in red paper wrapper.

The Pilgrims of Hope A Poem In
Thirteen Books By William Morris
London : Brought together from " The
Commonweal" For March, April, May,
June, August, September, & November,
1885, And January, March, April, May 8,
June 5, & July 3, MDCCCLXXXVI.
[Privately Printed.]

Sq. cr. 8vo. Blank leaf, half-title, title, contents,
prefatory note, and second half-title, 6 leaves ;
text, pp. 9 — 6g ; and I blank leaf. In grey paper
wrapper.

Sold for the Benefit of Linnell's Orphans.

Alfred Linnell Killed in Trafalgar
Square, November 20, 1887. A Death
Song, By Mr. W. Morris. Memorial
Design by Mr. Walter Crane. Price
One Penny.

Impl. 8vo. (7 in. by To in.) pp. 8. Title; Alfred
Linnell, pp. 2 — 4 ; first verse of song with music,
followed by complete text of the song (4 verses),
pp. 5-8.

This is the first edition of Morris's Death Song
for Alfred Linnell.

Christmas Song. By William Morris.
(Stream of Life Series.)
Lothrop, Boston, U.S.A. 1887.

l6mo. bds. 25 cts.

Atalanta's Race and other Tales from
the Earthly Paradise. By William
Morris. Edited with Notes by Oscar
Fay Adams with the co-operation of
William J. Rolfe, A.M., Litt. D. With
Illustrations.

Boston [U.S.A.] Ticknor and Com-
pany i883

Sm. Svo. pp. x and 11 — 242 and 2 blank pp. (the
frontispiece and page illustrations are included
in the pagination). The illustrations are from
" process " blocks.

All for the Cause. A Song for Socialists.
Words by William Morris. Music by
E. Belfort Bax.
London. 1887.

4to. pp. 4.

The words appeared originally in "Justice."

The Legend of "The Briar Rose." A
Series of Pictures Painted by E. Burne-
Jones, A.R.A. Exhibited at Thos.
Agnew & Sons' Galleries, 39 Old Bond
Street W. 1890.

i2mo. pp.12, (pp. 10 — 11 contain Morris's four
quatrains on the four pictures). This is the first
edition, but in the same year another edition was
issued in sm. 8vo. (pp. 24) with the Morris quat-
rains on pp. 5 — 17, and bound in grey wrapper.

Poems by the Way Written by Wil-
liam Morris

London: Reeves and Turner
MDCCCXCI.

Sm. 4to. Two blank leaves ; half-title, title, and
contents, 3 leaves ; B — CC in fours (last two
leaves blank).

The above is the collation of the large paper
issue, of which 100 copies were printed on hand-
made paper.

The ordinary edition was a small square octavo
with the collation : one leaf with advt. on verso ;
half-title, title, and contents, 3 leaves, B — CC 2
in fours.

Mr. Morris printed the first edition at the Kelm-
scott Press in 1891. See Kelmscott Press Pubs.
Bibl.

Poetical Works of William Morris.
Cheaper Issue. Library Edition.
Longmans & Co. London 1896.

Cr. 8vo. 10 vols.

Vols. I.— IV. The Earthly Paradise.
Vol. V. The Life and Death of Jason. 8th edit.
Vol. VI. Defence of Guenevere, and other
poems. Reprinted without alteration from the
edition of 1858.

Vol. VII. The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and
the Fall of the Niblungs. 5th edit.
Vol. VIII. Poems by the Way. Love is
Enough.

Vol. IX. The Odyssey of Homer done into
English verse.

Vol. X. The jEneids of Virgil done Into Eng-
lish verse. 2nd edit.

II. ROMANCES.

A Dream of John Ball and A King's
Lesson. (Reprinted from the ' Common-
weal.') By William Morris, Author of
"The Earthly Paradise," etc. With
an Illustration by Edward Burne-
Jones.

London : Reeves & Turner, 196 Strand.
MDCCCLXXXVIII.

Imp. 24mo. 1 blank leaf, half-title, I leaf; title-
page and contents, 2 leaves; frontispiece by
Burne-Jones on special plate paper. B — K in
eights (pp. viii and 144, last page unpaged), I
leaf advt. inserted at end. Published at 4*. bd.
The half-title to " A King's Lesson " is on sig.
K2 (pp. 130— 131).

Mr. Morris reprinted this volume at the Kelm-
scott Press in 1892. See Kelmscott Press
Pubs. Bibl.

The work ran as a serial through eleven num-
bers of " The Commonweal."

Reprinted in this form by the kind permission of
Messrs. Reeves & Turner, Publishers of Mr.
Morris's Works.

A King's Lesson By William Morris
Author of " The Earthly Paradise," etc.
Aberdeen : Printed and Published by
James Leatham 15 St. Nicholas Street
1891.

i6mo. 16 pp. (last leaf consists of advts.),
bound in grey wrapper.

A Tale of the House of the Wolfings
and all the Kindreds of the Mark written
in Prose and in Verse by William
Morris.

Whiles in the early winter eve
We pass amid the gathering night
Some homestead that we had to leave
Years past ; and see its candles bright
Shine in the room beside the door
"Where we were merry years agone,
But now must never enter more,
As still the dark road drives us on.
E'en so the world of men may turn
At even of some hurried day
And see the ancient glimmer burn
Across the waste that hath no way ;
Then with that faint light in its eyes
Awhile I bid it linger near
And nurse in wavering memories
The bitter sweet of days that were.

London 1889 ; Reeves and Turner 196
Strand

Sm. 4to. One blank leaf; half-title, title, and

contents, 3 leaves ; B — O4 in eights.

Of the large paper edition there were one

hundred copies printed, of which eighty-nine were

for sale.

Roberts of Boston, U.S.A., issued an edition

in 1890.

The Roots of the Mountains wherein
is told somewhat of the Lives of the
Men of Burgdale their Friends their
Neighbours their Foemen and their
Fellows in Arms By William Morris

Whiles carried o'er the iron road,

We hurry by some fair abode ;

The garden bright amidst the hay,

The yellow wain upon the way,

The dining men, the wind that sweeps

Light locks from off the sun-sweet heaps —

The gable grey, the hoary roof,

Here now — and now so far aloof.

How sorely then we long to stay

And midst its sweetness wear the day,

And 'neath its changing shadows sit,

And feel ourselves a part of it.

Such rest, such stay, I strive to win

With these same leaves that lie herein.

London MDCCCXC : Reeves and
Turner CXCVI Strand.

Sm. 4to. 1 prel. leaf with advt. on verso; half-
title, 1 leaf; title and contents, 2 leaves ; B — 3 H
in fours (pp. 424, prel. leaves unpaged). A 32 pp.
catalogue of the publishers inserted at the end.
Published at Bs. and bound in red-brown cloth.
Of the large paper edition there were 250 copies
printed, and bound in flowered cretonne.

The Story of the Glittering Plain which
has been also called the Land of Living
Men or the Acre of the Undying Writ-
ten by William Morris.
London Reeves and Turner.
M DCCC XCI.

Sm. 4to. One leaf of advts. ; half-title, title, and

contents, 3 leaves; B — Z 2 in fours.

The first edition of this work was issued by Mr.

Morris from the Kelmscott press. See Kelm-
scott Press Publications Bibl. Originally it
appeared as a serial in the " English Illustrated
Magazine," vol. vii., pp. 687,754, 824, 884.

News from Nowhere or An Epoch of
Rest, being some chapters from a
Utopian Romance by William Morris
Author of The Earthly Paradise.
London : Reeves & Turner. 1891.

Sm. 8vo. One blank leaf; half-title and title,
2 leaves ; B — Q in eights (last leaf blank).
A special edition on hand-made paper was also
issued, limited to 250 copies.

Mr. Morris reprinted this story at the Kelmscott
Press in 1892. See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.
The story ran as a serial through thirty-nine
numbers of " The Commonweal."
Messrs. Roberts Bros, of Boston, U.S.A., issued
in 1890 a reprint of this romance from " The
Commonweal," uncorrected. Mr. Morris's own
1891 edition was largely revised. The collation
of the American edition is : half-title, title, and
contents, pp. i — vi; text, pp. 7—278; advts. pp.
279 - 280 ; reprint of a criticism from the " Athe-
naeum," pp. 1 — 8. On verso of half-title is a
reduced copy of Mr. Crane's cartoon, " Labour's
May Day."

Of Child Christopher and Fair Goldilind.
1895.

See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

The Wood Beyond the World. By

William Morris.

London : Lawrence and Bullen, 16,

Henrietta Street, Covent Garden.

MDCCCXCV.

Sm. sq. 8vo. One blank leaf; half-title, title,
and contents, 3 leaves; B— Q in eights; R,
4 leaves ; S, 2 leaves (last leaf contains printers'
name only). In addition to the ordinary edition
there were 50 copies printed on Whatman paper,
and bound in olive-green art linen with paper
label.

The first edition of this romance was issued
from the Kelmscott Press in 1394. See Kelm-
scott Press Pubs. Bibl.

The Well at the World's End a Tale by
William Morris Volume I [Volume II]
Longmans, Green, and Co. London,
New York, and Bombay MDCCCXCVI

8vo. 2 vols, antique boards, linen back.
Collation: Vol. I. Two blank leaves ; half-title
and title, 2 leaves; contents, 2 leaves; B — BB in
eights (last three leaves blank except sig. BB6,
which has the imprint of the Chiswick Press).
Vol. II. Three blank leaves ; half-title and title,
2 leaves; contents, one leaf; B — T6 in eights
(last two leaves blank), sig. B 1 is the half-title to
Book III., and to each of the four books of the
story there is a separate half-title.

III. ART.

The Decorative Arts their relation to
Modern Life and Progress An Address

Delivered before the Trades' Guild of
Learning by William Morris.
London : Ellis and White 29 New
Bond Street. [1878.]

Sm. 8vo. pp. 32 (incl. title), issued in grey

wrapper.

Reprinted with the title " The Lesser Arts" in

the volume " Hopes and Fears for Art."

Issued in America (Boston) by Roberts in the

same year.

Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design.
Address delivered in the Town Hall,
Birmingham, 19th February, 1879. Bir-
mingham, n.d. [1879].
8vo. sd. pp. 24.

Reprinted with the title " The Art of the People,"
in the volume " Hopes and Fears for Art,"

Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design.
Labour and Pleasure versus Labour and
Sorrow. An Address by William
Morris, President, in the Town Hall,
Birmingham, 19th February, 1880. Bir-
mingham, n.d. [1880].

8vo. sd.

Reprinted with the title " The Beauty of Life "

in the volume " Hopes and Fears for Art."

Lectures on Art Delivered in support
of the Society for the Protection of
Ancient Buildings By Reginald Stuart
Poole Prof. W. B. Richmond E. J.
Poynter, R.A. J. T. Micklethwaite
William Morris
London Macmillan and Co. 1882.

Sm. 8vo. One blank leaf; half-title, title, pre-
face, and contents, 5 leaves ; B — Q 4 in eights.
Mr. Morris's contributions to this volume con-
sist of two lectures "The History of Pattern
Designing," and " The Lesser Arts of Life."
These occupy pp. 127 — 232 of the volume.

Hopes and Fears for Art. Five Lectures
delivered in Birmingham, London, and
Nottingham, 1878-1S81. By William
Morris, Author of ' The Life and Death
of Jason,' ' The Earthly Paradise,' &c.
London: Ellis & White, 29 New Bend
Street. 1882.

Sm. 8vo. Half-title and title, 2 leaves ; B— P 6
in eights (last leaf consists of advts.).
Of this work there was a large paper edition of
25 copies.

Roberts of Boston, U.S.A., issued an edition in
l6mo.

Contents : The Lesser Arts (delivered before
the Trades' Guild of Learning); The Art of the
People (delivered before the Birmingham Society
of Arts and School of Design) ; The Beauty of
Life (delivered before the Birmingham Society
of Arts and School of Design) ; Making the
Best of It (delivered before the Trades' Guild of
Learning and the Birmingham Society of Artists);
The Prospects of Architecture in Civilization
(delivered at the London Institution).
The lecture " The Lesser Arts" was first pub-
lished in 1878 with the title " The Decorative
Arts, their relation to Modern Life and Progress."

" The Art of the People " was first published in
1879 as a Birmingham address. " The Beauty
of Life " was issued separately in 1880 under
the title " Labour and Pleasure verszts Labour
and Sorrow."

International Health Exhibition. London, 1884.
Textile Fabrics. A Lecture delivered
in the Lecture Room of the Exhibition,
July nth, 1884. By William Morris.
Printed and Published for the Executive
of the International Health Exhibition,
and for the Council of the Society of
Arts, by William Clowes and Sons,
Limited, International Health Exhibi-
tion, and 13, Charing Cross, S.W. 1884.

8vo. pp. 32 (last leaf contains imprint of printers
only) bound in pale green wrapper, and pub-
lished at 6d.

Art and Socialism : a Lecture delivered

[January 23rd, 1884] before the Secular

Society of Leicester, by William Morris,

Author of " The Earthly Paradise,"

etc.

And Watchman : 'What of the Night ?

Cum Privilegio Auctoris.

Imprinted for E. E. M. and W. L. S.

Anno 1884. Sold by W. Reeves, 185,

Fleet Street, London, E.C. ; and by

Heywoods, London and Manchester.

[Leek Bijou Reprints. No. VII. Large Paper.
Price is.] Sq. i6mo. pp. 72 and 16 pp. advts.
Issued in yellow wrapper. The ordinary edition
is in red wrapper.

The Aims of Art By William Morris
Author of" The Earthly.Paradise," etc.
London Office of " The Commonweal "
13 Farringdon Road 1887.

i6mo. pp. 40 (including title). Issued with
wrapper. There was a special edition on hand-
made paper with grey wrapper, from which the
above description and collation have been taken.
The article was republished in the volume
entitled " Signs of Change."

On the External Coverings of Roofs.

A four-page leaflet issued by The Society for
the Protection of Ancient Buildings. London,
n.d. 8vo. Without Mr. Morris's name as
author.

The Socialist Ideal of Art. By William
Morris, Author of "The Earthly Para-
dise," " A Dream of John Ball," " News
from Nowhere," &c. &c.
London : Reprinted from " The New
Review," January 1891.

Sm. 8vo. 12 pp. (without wrapper).
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Address on the Collection of Paintings,
of the English Pre-Raphaelite School,
delivered by Mr. William Morris, in the
Museum and Art Gallery, on Friday,
October 2nd, 1891.

Vll

Birmingham: E. C. Osborne and Son,
84, New Street. Price One Penny.

8vo. 16 pp. pamphlet, including title. Without
wrapper.

The Principles of the Society for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings as set
forth upon its Foundation in 1877, and
■which are here reprinted in 1891 with-
out alteration.

Unsigned. A folio broadside of 2 pp., forming a
prospectus and list of members of the Society.

Arts and Crafts Essays By Members

of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition

Society With a Preface by William

Morris

London Rivington, Percival, & Co.

1893.

Sm. 8vo. One blank leaf; half-title and title,
2 leaves ; preface, 5 leaves ; contents, 2 leaves :
B — 2 E 2 in eights, and 24 pp. catalogue of the
publishers, (pp. xvii and 420. ) In addition to the
preface the volume also contains the articles on
" Textiles " and " Dyeing as an Art," which
originally appeared in the First and Second
Catalogues of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Society (1888— 1889). The essay on " Printing,"
which in the 1888 Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Catalogue was written by Mr. Emery Walker
alone, is here recast and issued in the joint
names of William Morris and Emery Walker.

Gothic Architecture. A Lecture for the
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.

See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

Concerning 'Westminster Abbey.
The Society for the Protection of Ancient
Buildings. London : g Buckingham
Street, Adelphi, W.C. [1894.]
Unsigned. Cr. 8vo. 18 pp. including wrapper.

IV. SOCIALIST WRITINGS.

A Summary of the Principles of
Socialism Written for the Democratic
Federation, By H. M. Hyndman and
William Morris.

London : The Modern Press, 13 and 14,
Paternoster Row, E.C. 1884.

Sm. 8vo. with pink wrapper. B — E in eights
(pp. 64, last leaf contains advts. ). Front wrap-
per has a floriated design within which is printed
the title. The wrapper was designed by Mr. W.
Morris.

Price One Halfpenny.

For whom shall we vote ? Addressed

to the Working-Men Electors of Great

Britain.

Sm.8vo. 8 pp. (without title or wrapper. Written
by Morris, although without his name).

No. 11.] What Socialists Want.

A single demy 8vo. leaf, printed on both sides.

The Socialist Platform. No. 2. The Socialist
League. [With headpiece designed by Walter
Crane.]

Useful Work v. Useless Toil. By Wil-
liam Morris.

London : Socialist League Office, 13
Farringdon Road, Holborn Viaduct,
E.C. 1885. Price One Penny.

Sm. 8vo. 24 pp. (incl. title) without wrappers,
paged continuously with No. I of" The Socialist
Platform," p. 17 — p. 40. The first five issues of
" The Socialist Platform " are paginated con-
tinuously ; the others separately.
Mr. Morris and Mr. Ernest Belfort Bax signed
an Introductory Editorial Note which appears in
each of the pamphlets issued under this title.
The pamphlet is reprinted as part of the book
entitled " Signs of Change."

Price One Penny.]

The Manifesto of the Socialist'League.

Sm.8vo. 8 pp. (without title or wrapper). Written
by W. Morris, but unsigned.

The Manifesto of The Socialist League.
Signed by the Provisional Council at
the Foundation of the League on 30th
Dec. 1884, and adopted at The General
Conference Held at Farringdon Hall,
London, on July 5th, 1885. A new edi-
tion, Annotated by William Morris and
E. Belfort Bax.

London : Socialist League Office, 13
Farringdon Road, Holborn Viaduct,
E.C. 1885. Price One Penny.

Sm. 8vo. 16 pp. in pamphlet form, 'last leaf
unpaged. The " Prefatory Note" is signed and
dated "October, 1885."

The Socialist Platform. No. 4. The Socialist
League. [With headpiece designed by Walter
Crane.]

A Short Account of the Commune of
Paris. By E. Belfort Bax, Victor Dave,
and William Morris. Price Twopence.
London : Socialist League Office, 13,
Farringdon Road, Holborn Viaduct,
E.C. 1886.

Sm. 8vo. 24 pp. without wrapper ; paged 57 to
80.

Socialism.

A Lecture delivered under the auspices of the
Norwich Branch of the Socialist League, at the
Victoria Hall, Norwich, on Monday evening,
March 8th, 1886, by Mr. William Morris.
Reprinted from " Daylight."

A broadsheet (17 x iof in.) with four columns of
small print on each side.

Claims of Labour Lectures — No. 5. The
Labour Question from the Socialist
Standpoint. By William Morris.
Edinburgh Co-operative Printing Com-

Vlll

pany Limited, Bristo Place. 1886.
Price One Penny.

8vo. 32 pp. (pp. 30-31 blank; p. 32, advt.).
Without wrapper.

The Claims of Labour. A Course of
Lectures delivered in Scotland in the
Summer of 1886, on Various Aspects of
the Labour Problem. By John Burnet,
. . . Benjamin Jones, . . . Patrick Geddes,
F.R.S.E. ; Alfred Russell Wallace,
LL.D., F.L.S., &c. ; William Morris;
and Herbert Somerton Foxwell . . .
Edinburgh Co-Operative Printing Com-
pany Limited, 1886.

Sm. 8vo. A — S 2 in eights (including title), and
a folding plan called " Curve of General Whole-
sale Prices," pasted on back cover.
Mr. Morris's contribution to this volume is the
lecture entitled " The Labour Question from the
Socialist Standpoint " (pp. 155 — 185), which
was issued separately as a pamphlet in 1886.
The volume was bound originally in pink linen
limp, and published at one shilling.

The Tables Turned ; or, Nupkins
Awakened A Socialist Interlude by
William Morris Author of ' The
Earthly Paradise.' As for the first
time played at the Hall of the Socialist
League on Saturday October 15th, 1887.
London: Office of "The Commonweal "
13 Farringdon Road, E.C. 1887. All
Rights Reserved.

Sm. 8vo. 32 pp. without title-page, but with a
blue wrapper, the four pages of which are not in-
cluded in the pagination.

" The Socialist Platform." No. 6. The Socialist
League [with headpiece designed by Walter
Crane.]

True and False Society. By William

Morris

London : Socialist League Office 13

Farringdon Road, E.C. 1888.

Price One Penny.

Sm. 8vo. 24 pp., last leaf blank on recto, and

contains advts. on verso. Without wrapper.

Signs of Change. Seven Lectures de-
livered on Various Occasions By
William Morris Author of " The
Earthly Paradise."

London Reeves and Turner 196 Strand
1888.

Contents : How we Live and How we might
Live — Whigs, Democrats, and Socialists — Feu-
dal England — The Hopes of Civilization — The
Aims of Art — Useful Work versus Useless Toil —
Dawn of a New Epoch.

The first four lectures originally appeared in the
" Commonweal ; " " Aims of Art " was published
as a pamphlet in 1887, and " Useful Work" as a
pamphlet in 1885.

Sm. 8vo. One leaf of advt. ; half-title, title, pre-
face, and contents, 5 leaves; B — O 6 in eights;
last leaf consists of advts.

There was also a Large Paper edition issut
bound in buff- coloured linen, and printed on
hand-made paper.

ssued,

" The Socialist Platform." No. 7. The Socialist
League [with headpiece designed by Walter
Crane.]

Monopoly: or, How Labour is Robbed.
By William Morris, Author of " The
Earthly Paradise." Price One Penny.
London; Office of " The Commonweal "
24 Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, W.C. 1890.

Sm. 8vo. 16 pp. without wrapper. On the
verso of title-page is a cartoon signed H. R.

Price One Penny.

Under an Elm-Tree ; or, Thoughts in

the Country Side. By Wm. Morris,

Author of " The Earthly Paradise,"

&c, &c.

Aberdeen : Printed and Published by

James Leatham, 15 St. Nicholas Street.

1891.

i6mo. 16 pp. (in pamphlet form, without wrap-
pers). Originally appeared in "The Common-
weal."

William Morris Poet, Artist, Socialist.
A Selection from his Writings together
with a Sketch of the Man. Edited by
Francis Watts Lee.

New York The Humboldt Publishing
Co. Clinton Hall, Astor Place (1891).

Cr. 8vo. One blank leaf; half-title, title, con-
tents, 3 leaves ; introduction, 7 leaves ; and pp.
300 and 1 blank leaf. (No sigs.) Bound in buff
paper wrapper.

Contents: Introduction — "William Morris. By
William Clarke — A Dream of John Ball— A
King's Lesson — Signs of Change — How the
Change Came — Chants for Socialists (6).
Appeared as No. 5 of " The Social Science
Library," edited by W. D. P. Bliss.

Socialism its Growth & Outcome by
William Morris Author of ' The Earthly
Paradise,' ' News from Nowhere,' etc.
and E. Belfort Bax Author of ' History
of Philosophy,' 'The Religion of Social-
ism,' etc.

London Swan Sonnenschein & Co.
New York : Charles Scribner's Sons
1893.

Sm. 8vo. Four prel. leaves, consisting of half-
title, title, preface, and contents ; B — Y in eights.
Last four leaves consist of '* Index."
A special edition was also issued on large paper
and bound in red buckram. The substance of
the volume appeared serially in " The Common-
weal," with the title " Socialism from the Root
Up."

In 1896 it was included as one of the publishers'
" Social Science Series."

The Reward of Labour : A Dialogue
by William Morris, author of " The

Earthly Paradise." Being No. I of the
Hammersmith Socialist Library.

One Penny.

n. d. 8vo. 12 pp., no regular title-page ; in grey
wrapper. Reprinted from " The Commonweal."
Printed by Hayman, Christy & Lilly, Ltd. 20 & 22
St. Bride St. E.C.

Letters on Socialism by William Morris
London : Privately Printed. 1894.

8vo. Two blank leaves ; half-title ; 4 pp. fac-
simile of a letter from Mr. Morris, on Japanese
vellum; title, certificate as to impression of
edition, note, 3 leaves; B — I in twos (last leaf
has on recto copy of book-plate of the Ashley
Library) and 2 blank leaves.

The letters were addressed to the Rev. George
Bainton, of Coventry, and, as the " note "
states, " are printed with Mr. Morris's permis-
sion, though not upon his initiative."

How I became a Socialist [Portrait.]
William Morris. [Price One Penny.

8vo. 16 pp. Mr. Hyndman's Introduction oc-
cupies pp. 3-8.

V. TRANSLATIONS.

Grettis Saga. The Story of Grettir the
Strong Translated from the Icelandic
by Eirikr Magnusson, Translator of
'Legends of Iceland;' and William
Morris, Author of ' The Earthly Para-
dise.'

London : F. S. Ellis, King Street,
Covent Garden. MDCCCLXIX.

[Pub. at 8i.]

Sm. 8vo. Half-title and title, 2 leaves ; preface,

6 leaves ; sig. /', 4 leaves ; a double-page " map

of the West parts of Iceland, with the chief

steads named in the story;" B — X 2 in eights

(last leaf consists of advts.). The verso of the

half-title contains a sonnet by William Morris

beginning :

" A life scarce worth the living, a poor fame

Scarce worth the winning, in a wretched land."

Volsunga Saga. The Story of the
Volsungs & Niblungs with Certain
Songs from the Elder Edda. Trans-
lated from the Icelandic by Eirikr
Magnusson, Translator of ' Legends of
Iceland;' and William Morris, Author
of ' The Earthly Paradise.'
London : F. S. Ellis, King Street,
Covent Garden. MDCCCLXX.

Sm. 8vo. Half-title and title, 2 leaves ; preface,

4 leaves ; contents, 2 leaves ; sig. l>, 2 leaves ;

B — T 2 in eights and one blank leaf. The

" Songs from the Elder Edda " has a special

half-title (p. 165).

The ornamental cloth binding was designed by

Philip Webb.

There was a large paper issue of 12 copies, the

title-page in most of the copies being decorated

by W. Morris himself.

Volsunga Saga : The Story of the Vol-
sungs and Niblungs, with certain Songs
from the Elder Edda. Edited, with
Introduction and Notes, by H. Halliday
Sparling. Translated from the Icelandic
by Eirikr Magnusson (Translator of
"Legends of Iceland"); and 'William
Morris (Author of " The Earthly Para-
dise.")

Walter Scott London : 24 Warwick
Lane Paternoster Row 1888.

[" The Camelot Series. Edited by Ernest Rhys"

on half-title.]

Sigs. a, b, c, 8 leaves each (including half-title

and title) ; sig. rf, 2 leaves ; sigs. 001 — 0018 6 in

eights (last four leaves unpaged and consist of

advts.). (pp. hi and 276.) There are two special

half-titles in the body of the book — " The Story

of the Volsungs and Niblungs " (p. xlvii), and

" Songs from the Elder Edda " (p. 161).

This is a reprint of the first edition issued in

1870.

Three Northern Love Stories, and other

Tales. Translated from the Icelandic

by Eirikr Magnusson and William

Morris.

London : Ellis & White, 29 New Bond

Street. 1875.

Sm. 8vo. Half-title and title, 2 leaves; sig. a,

4 leaves ; B — R in eights. To each of the six

stories there is a special half-title.

A large paper edition of 25 copies was also

issued.

The .rEneids of Virgil Done into Eng-
lish Verse by William Morris, Author
of ' The Earthly Paradise.'
London : Ellis and White, New Bond
Street. MDCCCLXXVI.

[Pub. at 14J.]

Sq. 8vo. Half-title and title, 2 leaves; B — BB
in eights (last leaf blank).

A large paper edition of 25 copies was also
issued.

In 1875 an edition was issued by Roberts of Bos-
ton, U.S.A., in 8vo.

The Odyssey of Homer Done into
English Verse by William Morris
Author of The Earthly Paradise. In
Two Volumes. Vol. I. [Vol. II.]
London : Reeves & Turner, 196 Strand.
MDCCCLXXXVII.

4to. Vol. I. : half-title, title, and contents, 4
leaves ; B — Q 4 in eights (last leaf blank).
Vol. II. : half-title, title, and contents, 4 leaves ;
R — GG 6 in eights. The pagination is also con-
tinuous through the two volumes.
Printed on hand-made paper, and bound in
marble boards with half-vellum backs. This was
the large paper issue of 50 copies. The small
paper edition was also on hand-made paper, but
was bound in antique boards, half parchment.

The Saga Library. Vol. I. TVol. II.]
[Vol. III.] [Vol. IV.] [Vol. V.]

The Story of Howard the Halt.

The Story of the Branded Men.

The Story of Hen Thorir.
Done into English out of the Icelandic.
By William Morris and Eirikr Magnus-
son.

London : Bernard Quaritch, 15 Picca-
dilly. 1891.

Sm. 8vo. Vol. I. : half-title, and title, 2 leaves ;
preface, 22 leaves; half-title to "The Story of
Howard the Halt," one leaf; " Corrigenda," one
leaf; "Map of the Country of the Howard's Saga,"
one leaf; B — Q2 in eights, with half-titles to
each of the stories. The maps are not included
in the signatures ; there is a map to each story.

Vol. II. Eyrbyggja Saga— [Title :— ]
The Story of the Ere-Dwellers (Eyr-
byggja Saga) with The Story of the
Heath-Slayings (Hei'Sarviga Saga) as
Appendix. Done into English out of
the Icelandic by William Morris and
Eirfkr Magnusson.

London Bernard Quaritch, 15 Picca-
dilly 1892.

Half-title and title, 2 leaves ; contents, 3 leaves ;
preface, ig leaves ; chronological list, 2 leaves ;
addenda and corrigenda, 1 leaf; B — DD 6 in
eights (last leaf contains printer's name only).
The map of "The Story of the Heath-Slayings"
is not included in the signatures. The map for
" The Story of the Ere-Dwellers" is on the verso
of the half-title to that story.

Vol. III. Heimskringla. Vol. I.
[Title :— ] The Stories of the Kings of
Norway called the Round World
(Heimskringla) By Snorri Sturluson
Done into English out of the Icelandic
by William Morris and Eirikr Magnus-
son. Vol. I. With a Large Map of
Norway.

London Bernard Quaritch, 15 Picca-
dilly 1893.

Half-title, title, contents, translator's note, 4
leaves; B — CC in eights; DD, 4 leaves ; EE, one
leaf. The map is in a pocket made in the inside
of the back cover.

Vol. IV. Heimskringla. Vol. II.

[Title as for Vol. I., with the exception that there
is no mention made of the map of Norway, that
Vol. II. is printed instead of Vol. I., and that the
date is 1894.]

One blank leaf; half-title, title, and contents,
3 leaves; B — II 2 in eights.

Vol. V. Heimskringla. Vol. III.

[Title as for Vol. I. and Vol. II. Date, 1895.]
Half-title, title, note, and contents, 4 leaves ;
B — II in eights, KK, 4 leaves, LL, two leaves
(last leaf blank).

In addition to the ordinary edition there was a
large paper issue (roy. 8vo.) of 125 copies, all
numbered. Both issues were bound in rox-
burghe binding, with gilt top.

The Ordination of Knighthood.

Translation in Verse by W. Morris of " L'Orderre

de Chevalerie."

In "The Order of Chivalry," pp. 128 — 147.

Kelmscott Press. 1893.

See Bibliog. Kelmscott Press Pubs.

Of King Florus and the Fair Jehane.
Translated by William Morris. 1893.
See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

Of the Friendship of Amis and Amite.
Translated by William Morris. 1894.
See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

The Tale of the Emperor Constans
and of Over Sea. Translated by William
Morris. 1894.
See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

Old French Romances done into Eng-
lish by William Morris with an Intro-
duction by Joseph Jacobs.
London George Allen, Ruskin House
1896 All rights reserved.

Sm. 8vo. Half-title, title, 2 leaves; introduction,
n leaves ; contents, 3 leaves ; A — M 2 in eights
(last leaf blank).

This work is a reprint of the three items fore-
going.

The Tale of Beowulf. Done out of the
Old English tongue by 'William Morris
and A. J. Wyatt. (1895).
See Kelmscott Press Pubs. Bibl.

VI. CONTRIBUTIONS TO
PERIODICALS, MAGA-
ZINES, &c.

The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine

For 1856. Conducted by the Members

of the Two Universities.

London : Bell and Daldy, Fleet Street.

1856.

8vo. title and contents, 2 leaves; B — 3 F 6 in

eights.

Issued originally in monthly parts, with green

paper wrappers. It was edited by Mr. Fulford.
Contents :

I. Essays:— Sir Philip Sidney. Part I. Prelude
— Part II. The Learner — Alfred Tennyson.
Parts I., II., III.— The Newcomes — The
Barrier Kingdoms — Tne Churches of North
France — Shakespeare's Minor Poems — Mr.
Macaulay — The Prospects of Peace — A Few
Words concerning Plato and Bacon — Car-
lyle. Parti. His "I believe"— Part II. His
Lamp for the Old Years — Part III. Another
Look at his Lamp for the Old Years — Part
IV. As a Writer— Part V. His Lamp for
the New Years — Oxford — Prometheus —
Unhealthy Employments — Shakespeare's
Troilus and Cressida — On Popular Lectures
— Thackeray and Currer Bell — Ruskin and
the Quarterly — On the Life and Character

of Marshal St. Arnaud— A Study in Shake-
speare — Lancashire and Mary Barton —
Woman, her Duties, Education, and Posi-
tion — Death the Avenger, and Death the
Friend — Two Pictures — Robert Herrick—
Alexander Smith -— The Work of Young
Men in the Present Age — Twelfth Night, or
What You Will, a Study in Shakespeare —
Rogers' Table-Talk— The Sceptic and the
Infidel. Parts I. and II.

II. Tales:— The Cousin— The Story of the Un-
known Church — The Rivals — A Story of the
North — The Two Partings — A Dream —
Found Yet Lost— Frank's Sealed Letter —
The Sacrifice — A Night in a Cathedral —
Gertha's Lovers — Svend and his Brethren —
Cavalay, a Chapter of a Life — The Hollow
Land — Lindenborg Pool — The Druid and
the Maiden — Golden Wings.

III. Poetry:— Winter Weather— In Youth I Died
— Fear — Remembrance — Riding Together —
The Suitor of Low Degree — The Singing
of the Poet — To the English Army before
Sebastopol — Hands — The Burden of Nine-
veh — The Chapel in Lyoness— A Year Ago
—Pray but One Prayer for Us— The Blessed
Damozel — Childhood — The Staff and the
Scrip— The Porch of Life.

IV. Notices of Books : — Kingsley's Sermons for
the Times — Men and Women, by Robert
Browning — Mr. Ruskin's New Volume —
Froude's History of England — The Song of
Hiawatha, by H. W. Longfellow — Recent
Poems and Plays — England in Time of
War, by Sydney Dobell— Within and With-
out. A Dramatic Poem. By George Mac-
Donald.

I have obtained the best information I could
with regard to the contributions by Mr. Morris to
this magazine, and the result is given below: —
The Churches of North France (pp. gg-no) —
Ruskin and the Quarterly (pp. 353-361) — Death the
Avenger, and Death the Friend (pp. 477-479) —
The Story of the Unknown Church (pp. 28-33) —
A Dream (pp. 146-155) — Frank's Sealed Letter
(pp. 225-234) — A Night in a Cathedral (pp. 310-
316) — Gertha's Lovers. Part I. (pp. 403-417) ;
Part II. (pp. 499-512) — Svend and his Brethren
(pp. 488-499)— The Hollow Land. Part I. (pp.
565-577); Part II. (pp. 632-641) — Lindenborg
Pool (pp. 530-534)— Golden Wings (pp. 733-742)—
Winter Weather (pp. 62-64) — Riding Together
(pp. 320-321) — Hands (p. 452) — The Cbapel in
Lyoness (pp. 577-579) — Pray but One Prayer for
Us (p. 644) — Men and Women, by Robert Brown-
ing (pp. 162-172):

With the exception of " Winter Weather," the
poems were reprinted in " The Defence of
Guenevere." The poem here entitled " Hands,"
when reprinted, formed the concluding stanzas
of the poem "Rapunzel."

Among the other contributors were D. G.
Rossetti, Sir E. Burne-Jones, Vernon Lush-
ington, Godfrey Lushington, B. Cracroft, W.
Heeley,the editor, and the present Mrs. Kipling,
Mrs. Poynter, and Lady Burne-Jones.

(1) POEMS.

The God of the Poor: a Poem. "Fort-
nightly Review," August, 1868.

Afterwards republished in " Poems by the
Way."

The Two Sides of the River: a Poem.
" Fortnightly Review," October, 1868.

Afterwards republished in " Poems by the
Way."

On the Edge of the Wilderness — a
poem. " Fortnightly Review," April,
1869. (Pp. 39 I -394-)

Afterwards republished in " Poems by the

Way."

The Seasons — Four stanzas published
in "The Academy," February 1, 1871.

This poem was republished with a variant in
the shape of a new stanza in place of the original
on Winter, in " Poems by the Way."

The Dark Wood — poem. " Fortnightly
Review," February 1, 1871.

Reprinted in "Poems by the Way" with the
title " Error and Loss."

Grosvenor Notes. Edited by Henry
Blackburn. London: Chatto & Windus,
1879.

Contains on p. 46 the following quatrain [by Mr.
William Morris] for four paintings by E. Burne-
Jones :

No. 167. The heart desires

No. 168. The hand refrains

No. r6g. The Godhead fires

No. r70. The soul attains.

The Three Seekers. By William
Morris. " To-Day, " Vol. I., No. 1
(pp. 25-29), London, January, 1884.

A poem in fifty-two rhymed couplets. Reprinted
in " Poems by the Way."

Meeting in Winter — a poem. " English
Illustrated Magazine," March, 1884.
Republished in " Poems by the Way."

The Hall and the Wood — a poem.
" English Illustrated Magazine," Vol.
VII. (p. 351), February, 1890.
Republished in " Poems by the Way."

The Day of Days: a Poem. "Time."
New Series. November, i8go.
Republished in " Poems by the Way."

The Briar Rose — Four Stanzas for Pic-
tures.

First published in a pamphlet entitled " The

Legend of the Briar Rose, a series of pictures

painted by E. Burne-Jones, A.R.A. Exhibited

at Thos. Agnew and Sons' Galleries, 3g Old

Bond Street. l8go."

Afterwards republished in " Poems by the

Way."

" The Wind's on the Wold," &c.

Verses for embroidery on bed-hanging for Kelm-
scott Manor, Lechlade. Three stanzas. First
of 8 lines, second and third of 10 lines each.
Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society. Catalogue
of the Fourth Exhibition. 1893. (Pp. 36, 37.)
The New Gallery, Regent Street.

Xll

(2) PROSE.

Poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. [A
Review.] " The Academy," May 14th,
1870.

On Canterbury Cathedral. Two letters
to the "Times," June 4th and July 7th,
1877.

Destruction of City Churches. Letter
to the " Times," April 17th, 187S.

On St. Alban's Abbey. Letter to the
" Times," August 2nd, 1878.

Speech by Mr. William Morris at the
Annual Meeting of the Society for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings, 28th
June, 1879. Report (pp. 30-36).

In this Report is also contained the Report of
the Committee, which Mr. Morris read.

On the Restoration of St. Mark's at
Venice. Two letters to the "Times,"
November 28th and 29th, 1879.

Vandalism in Italy. Letter to the
" Times," April 12th, 1882.

Lectures at Oxford on Art and De-
mocracy. Two contributions to the
" Times," November 15th and 16th, 1883.

A Review of European Society, with an
Exposition and Vindication of the Prin-
ciples of Social Democracy. By J.
Sketchley. 'With an Introduction by
William Morris.
London: W. Reeves [1884].

Art Under Plutocracy. By William
Morris. "To-Day," Vol. I., No. 2 (pp.
79-90) ; Vol. I., No. 3 (pp. 159-176).
London, February and March, 1884.

The Exhibition of the Royal Academy
by a Rare Visitor. "To-Day" (pp.
75-91). July. 1884.

Mural Decoration. Illustrated article
signed W. M. and J. H. M., i.e., William
Morris and Dr. J. H. Middleton. " En-
cyclopaedia Britannica." Ninth edition.
Edinburgh, 1884. Vol. XVII. (pp. 34-48).

Report of Royal Commission on Tech-
nical Education. Evidence by Mr. Wil-
liam Morris. Vol. III. (c. 3981-11.)
XXXI. I. 1884.

Speech by Mr. William Morris (The
Chairman) at the Annual Meeting of the
Society for the Protection of Ancient
Buildings, June, 1885. Report (pp. 45-55).

The Best Hundred Books. Letter to
the Editor of the " Pall Mall Gazette."
" Pall Mall Gazette " Extra, No. 24.
London. [1886.]

The Revival of Architecture. " Fort-
nightly Review," May, 1888 (pp. 665-674).

Textiles — forming part of the Introduc-
tory Notes to the Catalogue of the First
Exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Exhi-
bition Society. New Gallery, Regent
Street, 1888. (Pp. 17-29.)

Republished in "Arts and Crafts Essays"
(Rivington, i8g3.)

The Principles of Socialism made Plain.
By Frank Fairman. With Preface by
William Morris.
London : William Reeves. 1888.

The Revival of Handicraft. " Fort-
nightly Review," November, 1888.

On Tapestry and Carpet - Weaving.
Letter to the " Times," November 2nd,
1888.

Westminster Abbey and its Monuments.
By William Morris, Hon. Sec. of the
Society for the Protection of Ancient
Buildings. " Nineteenth Century,"
March, 1889. (Pp. 409-414.)

Address by Mr. William Morris at the
Annual Meeting of the Society for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings, July,
1889. Report (pp. 62-76).

On Peterborough Cathedral. A Letter
to the " Pall Mall Gazette," September
20th, 1889.

Of Dyeing as an Art — Catalogue of the
Second Exhibition of the Arts and
Crafts Exhibition Society, 1889. (Pp.
56-67.)

Republished in "Arts and Crafts Essays"

(Rivington, 1893.)

Art and Industry in the Fourteenth
Century. "Time," New Series, Janu-
ary, i8go. (Pp. 23-26.)

On Stratford-on-Avon Church. Letter
to the " Times," August 15th, 1890.

On the Hanseatic Museum at Bergen.
Letter to the " Times," September 10th,
1890.

The Story of the Glittering Plain which
has been also called the Land of Living
Men or the Acre of the Undying. By

Xlll

William Morris. Illustrated by Walter
Crane. "English Illustrated Magazine,"
Vol. VII. (pp. 687, 754, 824, 884), 1890.

The Socialist Ideal. I.— Art. By William
Morris. " New Review," Vol. IV., No.
20 (pp. 1-8), January, 1891.

The reply to this by Mr. W. H. Mallock ap-
peared in the " New Review," Vol. IV., p. 100,
February, 1891.

On Westminster Abbey. Letter to the
"Times," February nth, 1891.

On the Woodcuts of Gothic Books.
Two contributions to the " Times,"
January 25th and 28th, 1892.

The Woodcuts of Gothic Books. A
paper read before the Society of Arts,
January 26th, 1892. "Journal of the
Society of Arts," February 12th, 1892.
(Pp. 247-260. Illustrated.)

Ruskin's The Nature of Gothic (1892).
Preface to, by W. Morris. See Kelm-
scott Press Pubs. Bibl.

The Influence of Building Materials
upon Architecture : By kind permission
of the Art Workers' Guild. By William
Morris. " The Century Guild Hobby
Horse," Vol. VII. (pp. 1-14). 1892.

Bell Scott (W.). Two Letters to, one
dated May 6th, 1875, on the publication
of Scott's Poems, the other dated April
27th, 1882, on the poet's " Harvest
Home," printed in " Autobiographical
Notes of the Life of W. Bell Scott."
London : Osgood & Co. 1892. 2 vols.

The first letter is to be found on pp. 212-213, an d
the second on page 30g.

Art Craft and Life. A Chat with Mr.
William Morris. " Daily Chronicle,"
October 9th, 1893. London.

On the Printing of Books. Contribu-
tion to the " Times," November 6th,
1893.

Help for the Miners : the deeper mean-
ing of the struggle. A letter addressed
to the Editor of the " Daily Chronicle,"
November 10th, 1893.

Appeared afterwards as a leaflet.

Medieval Lore : Edited by Robert
Steele. With a Preface by William
Morris. London : Elliot Stock. 1893.
8vo.

More's "Utopia" (1893), Foreword to.
By W. Morris. See Kelmscott Press
Pubs. Bibl.

Prospectus for Kelmscott Press Edition
of " Sidonia the Sorceress." 1893.

Early England. A Report of an Address
by William Morris at the South London
Art Gallery. " Daily Chronicle," Janu-
ary 15th, 1894.

The Proposed Addition to Westminster
Abbey. A Letter to the Editor of the
" Daily Chronicle," dated " Hammer-
smith Feb. 26.", appeared February
27th, 1894.

The letter refers to Mr. Yates Thompson's pro-
posals for a new mortuary chapel.

Mr. Morris's " Chaucer." A Letter to
the Editor of the "Daily Chronicle,"
dated " Hammersmith July 20," ap-
peared July 24th, 1894.

Some Notes on the Illuminated Books
of the Middle Ages. By W. Morris.
Illustrated. " Magazine of Art," Vol.
XVII. (pp. 83-88), January, 1894.

Peterborough Cathedral. A Letter to
the Daily Papers. April 2nd, 1895.

The letter appeared in "The Times," "Stan-
dard," " Daily Chronicle," and " Morning Post."

Tree-Felling in Epping Forest. A
Letter to the Editor of the " Daily
Chronicle," April 23rd, 1895.
The letter is dated April 22nd, 1895.

Epping Forest. Mr. Morris's Report.
" Daily Chronicle," May gth, 1895.

Signed " William Morris May 8th, 1895."

On the Royal Tombs in Westminster
Abbey. Letter to the " Times," June
1st, 1895.

" Wood beyond the World." A Let-
ter to the Editor of the " Spectator,"
July 20th, 1895.

Trinity Almshouses. A Letter to the
" Daily Chronicle," dated " Hammer-
smith Nov. 25, 1895."

Reprinted in "The Trinity Hospital in Mile
End," edited by C. R. Ashbee, and published
by the Guild and School of'Handicraft.

Gossip about an Old House on the Upper
Thames. Illustrated. "The Quest,"
No. 4 (pp. 5-14). Birmingham, Novem-
ber, 1895.
The article is dated " Kelmscott October 25."

Rouen Cathedral. A Letter to the
" Daily Chronicle," October 12th, 1895.

Peterborough Cathedral. A Letter to
the " Daily Chronicle," December 5th,
1895.

xiv

Chichester Cathedral. A Letter to the
"Times," December 14th, 1895.

Good King Wenceslas, a Carol. Written
by Dr. Neale and pictured by Arthur J.
Gaskin. With an Introductory Note
by William Morris.
Birmingham, Cornish Bros. 1895.

On the Artistic Qualities of the Woodcut
Books of Ulm and Augsburg in the Fif-
teenth Century. ". Bibliographica," Vol.
I. (pp. 437-455)- London, 1895-6.

Contains nine reproductions of old wood-blocks.

(3) TRANSLATIONS.

The Saga of Gunnlaug the Worm -tongue
and Rafn the Skald. Translated by
Eirikr Magnusson and William Morris.
" Fortnightly Review," January, i86g
(pp. 27-56).

This story was included in the volume entitled
"Three Northern Love Stories," 1875.

The Story of Frithiof the Bold. Trans-
lated from the Icelandic. "The Dark
Blue." Vol.1. March to August, 1871.
Chapters I.-X. (pp. 42-58). Chapters
XI. -XV. (pp. 176-182).
London : Sampson Low & Co. 1871.

This story was included in the volume entitled
"Three Northern Love Stories," 1875.

(4) CONTRIBUTIONS TO "JUS-
TICE."

Mr. Morris's Contributions began in
No. 1 (January 19th, 1884), and con-
tinued until No. 49 (December 20th,
1884).

An Old Fable Retold. Vol. I., No. 1 (p. 2). January
19th, 1884.

The Principles of Justice. A leader signed by H.
M. Hyndman, William Morris, J. Taylor. Vol. I.,
No. 1 (p. 4). January 19th, 1884.

Report of a Lecture on " Useful Work versus Use-
less Toil," delivered at Hampstead. Vol. I., No. 1
(p. 6). January igth, 1884.

Report of a Lecture on " Useful Work versus Use-
less Toil," delivered at Manchester. Vol. I., No. 2
(p. 7). January 26th, 1884.

Report of a Lecture on "Art and Socialism," de-
livered at Leicester. Vol. I., No. 3 (p. 7). February
2nd, 1884.

Order and Anarchy. An article. Vol. I., No. 4
(p. 2). February 9th, 1884.

The Bondholder's Battue. A leader signed by H.
M. Hyndman and William Morris. Vol. I., No. 4
{p. 4). February gtb, 1884.

The Way Out. An Appeal to genuine Radicals.

A signed leader. Vol. I., No. 7 (p. 4). March 1st,

1884.

Art or No Art? Who Shall Settle it? A signed

article. Vol. I , No. 9 (p. 2). March 15th, 1884.

The Voice of Toil. Chants for Socialists. No. 2.

Vol. I., No. 12 (p. 5). April 5th, 1884.

Why Not ? A signed article on the Preservation

of Commons. Vol. I., No. 13 (p. 2). April 12th,

1884.

All for the Cause. Chants for Socialists. No. III.

Vol. I., No. 14 (p. 5), April 19th, 1884.

The Dull Level of Life. A signed leader. Vol. I.,

No. 15 (p. 4). April 26th, 1884.

A Factory as it Might be. A signed article. Vol. I.,

No. 18 (p. 2). May 17th, 1884.

Individualism at the Royal Academy. A signed

leader. Vol. I., No. 19 (p. 4). May 24th, 1884.

Work in a Factory as it Might be. II. A signed

article. Vol. L, No. 20 (p. 2). May 31st, 1884.

No Master. Chants for Socialists. No. IV. Vol.1.,

No. 21 (p. 5). June 7th, 1884.

Work in a Factory as it Might be. III. A signed

article. Vol. I., No. 24 (p. 2). June 28th, 1884.

To Genuine Radicals. A signed leader. Vol. I.,

No. 26 (pp. 4, 5). July 12th, 1884.

The Housing of the Poor. A signed leader. Vol.1.,

No. 27 (pp. 4, 5). July 19th, 1884.

Socialism in England in 1884. A signed leader.

Vol. I., No. 30 (p. 4). August 19th, 1884.

Uncrowned Kings. A signed leader. Vol. I.,

No. 34 (p. 4). September 6th, 1884.

The Hammersmith Costermongers. Vol. I., No.
36 (p. 3). September 20th, 1884.

An Appeal to the Just. A signed leader. Vol. I.,
No. 39 (p. 4). October nth, 1884.

Literary Courtesy. A letter to the Editor. Vol. I.,
No. 39 (p. 6). October nth, 1884.
The Lord Mayor's Show. A signed article. Vol.1.,
No. 44 {p. 2). November 15th, 1884.

The Hackney Election. A signed leader. Vol. I.,
No. 46 (p. 4). November 29th, 1884.
Philanthropists. A signed article. Vol. I., No. 49
(p. 2). December 20th, 1884.

(5) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
"COMMONWEAL."

(The Official Journal of the Socialist League,)

From the first number, which is dated February,
1885, to the last with which he had anything to do
(December, 1890, Nos. 1-253), Mr. Morris acted
either as editor or co-editor in the management of
this periodical. In almost every issue he contri-
buted editorial notes, with the headings, " Notes,"
" Notes on News," " Political Notes," " Notes on
Passing Events," &c. These were sometimes
S'gned with his full name, but oftener with the
initials"W. M." Scattered here and there through-
out the issues are minor notes, all initialled " W.
M." Occasionally, during or after a lecturing tour,
he would send on notes or impressions. These
appear under the following headings in the issues
as given: "Socialism in the Provinces" (No. 15,
p. 30) ; " Socialism in Dublin and Yorkshire " (No.
I 7i P- 43) > " A Letter from Scotland " (No. 25, pp.
105, ic6) ; " The Sequel of the Scotch Letter " (No.
26, p. 114) ; " Socialism Militant in Scotland " (No.
117, pp. 106, 107)5 "In and about Cottonopolis"
(No. 153, p. 396); "Impressions of the Paris Con-
gress" (Nos. 185, 186, pp. 234, 242).

With No. 16 " The Commonweal " commenced its
weekly issue. With the issue for November 29th,
iSgo, the journal ceased to be a weekly, and the
next issue was for the month of December. The
last contribution of Mr. Morris's which I can trace
is in the issue for November 15th, r8go (No. 251).
In this he has a leading article, entitled, " Where
are we Now?" (pp. 361, 362), which contains the
statement of his political and social opinions, and
the reasons for the step he takes in separating him-
self from the more "advanced" members of the
Socialist body. "The Commonweal," after Mr.
Morris left it, became the organ of the "Anarch-
ists." It lived by fits and starts as a monthly,
and finally became extinct in 1894.
Mr. Morris's more important contributions to
"The Commonweal" consist of political and social
leaders, poems, stories, and articles on art. In
conjunction with Dr. Aveling, E.Belfort Bax, and
H. Halliday Sparling, he signed several editorials
and special pronouncements of the Socialist
League. Of them all I give herewith a complete
list, arranged in chronological order :

The March of the Workers.

[A poem.] No. i,p. 4.
[A poem.]

The Message of the March Wind.

No. 2, p. 13.

This poem was made the first of a series, with
the general title, " The-Pilgrims of Hope." In
the following issues appeared the poems with a
separate title to each:

The Pilgrims of Hope. II. The Bridge and the
Street. No. 3, p. 20.

III. Sending to the War. No. 4, p. 32.

IV. Mother and Son. No. 5, pp. 44, 45.

V. The New Birth. No. 7, pp. 68, 6g.

VI. The New Proletarian. No. 8, pp. 80, 81.

VII. In Prison — and at Home. No. 10, pp. 96, §7.

VIII. The Half of Life Gone. No. 12, p. 4.

IX. A New Friend. No. 14, pp. 21, 22.

X. Ready to Depart. No. 15, pp. 28, 29.

XI. A Glimpse of the Coming Day. No. 17, p. 45.

XII. Meeting the War Machine. No. 21, p. 75.

XIII. The Story's Ending. No. 25, p. 107.

The Worker's Share of Art. No. 3, pp. 18, 19.

Unattractive Labour — Attractive Labour. Sup-
plements to Nos. 4 and 5, pp. 37, 49, 50.

Socialists at Play [a Poem]. No. 6, p. 56.

Prologue spoken at the Entertainment of the
Socialist League at South Place Institute, June
11, 1885.
Socialism and Politics (An Answer to "Another
View"). [Article.] Supplement to No. 6, p. 61.

A New Party. [Article.] Supplement to No. 8,

p. 85.

Ireland and Italy. A Warning. [Article.] No. 9,

pp. 86, 87.

A Letter from the Pacific Coast. [Article.] No. 13,

P- 13-

Our Policy. [Editorial.] No. 14, pp. 17, 18.

Independent Ireland. [Leader.] No. 16, p. 36.

Socialism from the Root Up. By E. Belfort Bax

and William Morris. Appeared serially in Nos.

18, ig, 20, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35, 38, 42, 56, 5g,

61, 63, 68, 80, 82, 113, 114, 121, 123.

Our Representatives. [Leader.] No. ig, p. 68.
Free Speech at Stratford. [Article.] No. 22, p. 87.
Misanthropy to the Rescue. [Leader.] No. 23,
p. 172.

A Review of Mr. Wordsworth Donisthorpe's paper
read by him at the Fabian Conference. No. 23,
p. 172.

The paper was printed in the " Anarchist."

Whigs, Democrats, and Socialists. No. 24, pp.

97, 98. No. 25, pp. 106, 107.

Read at the Conference convened by the Fabian
Society at South Place Institute, June n, 1886.

[Leader.] No. 24, pp.

Home Rule or Humbug.
100, 101.

' by Annie Besant.

No. 27,

[Editorial.]
[Editorial.]
[Editorial.]

No. 28,

No. 29,
No. 31,

Review of" Modern Socialism'

No. 26, p. 117.

The Whig-Jingo Victory. [Editorial.]

p. 121.

" Cashel Byron's Profession,"byG. Bernard Shaw.

A Review. No. 27, p. 126.

What is to Happen Next?

p. 129.

Free Speech in the Streets.

p. 137-

Mr. Chamberlain's Leader.

P- 153.

The Abolition of Freedom of Speech in the Streets.

[Editorial.] No. 32, p. 160.

An Old Story Retold [A Tale]. No. 36, pp. 197, ig8.

The Reward of "Genius." [Article.] No. 37,

pp. 205, 206.

A Dream of John Ball. Appeared serially in Nos.

44. 45. 46, 47. 48, 49. 5°, 5 1 , 52, 53, 55-

The Moral of Last Lord Mayor's Day. No. 45,

p. 265.

Mr. Jawkins at the Mansion House. No. 45, pp.

268, 269.

Remarks on a speech by Lord Salisbury.

The Ten Commandments. No. 46, p. 276.

A review of an article in the " Pall Mall Gazette."

Is Trade Recovering? [Leader.] No. 50, p. 305.

The Law in Ireland. [Editorial.] No. 50, p. 307.

Words of Forecast for 1887. No. 52, p. g. (Signed
" E. Belfort Bax, William Morris."}

The Political Crisis. [Leader.] No. 53, p. 20.

Facing the Worst of It. [Editorial.] No. 58, p. 60.

Fighting for Peace. [Editorial.] No. 59, p. 68.

Why we Celebrate the Commune of Paris. [Ar-
ticle.] No. 62, pp. 88, 89.

Law and Order in Ireland. [Leader.] No. 65, p. 113.

Coercion for London. [Article.] No. 70, pp. 153,

154.

The Reward of Labour. A Dialogue. No. 71, p.

165. No. 72, pp. 170, 171.

How We Live and How we Might Live. Appeared

in Nos. 73, 74, 75, 7$> 77-

In a note Mr. Morris says, "This paper has
been delivered as a lecture on several occasions,
and I have been often asked to reprint it : hence
its appearance in ' Commonweal.' "

Common-Sense Socialism. By H. Kempner. A

Review. No. 75, p. 197.

An Old Superstition— A New Disgrace. [Leader.]

No. 76, p. 204.

The Boy-Farms at Fault. No. 81, p. 241.

Bourgeois versus Socialist. [Leader.] No. 82, p.

252,

XVI

Feudal England. Nos. 84, 85, 86, 87, pp. 266, 267,
274, 282, 2go, 291.

Is Lipski's Confession Genuine? No. 85, p. 276.
(Signed " E. Belfort Bax, William Morris.")

Artist and Artisan. As an Artist sees it. No. 87,
p. 291.

Free Speech in America. [Leader.] No. 91, p. 324,

Practical Politics at Nottingham. [Article.] No.
94, p- 349-

Honestyis the Best Policy; or, the Inconveniences

of Stealing. [A Dialogue.] Nos. 95, g6, pp.356,

357. 364, 365-

London in a State of Siege. [Article.] No. 97,

PP- 369, 370.

Insurance against Magistrates. No. 98, p. 377.

The Liberal Party Digging its own Grave. [Leader.]
No. 98, p. 380.

The Conscience of the Upper Classes. [Leader.]
No. 101, p. 404.

What 1887 has done. [Leader.] No. 104, pp. 4, 5.

Radicals Look Round You! [Leader,] No. 105,
pp. 12, 13.

On Some "Practical" Socialists. [Leader.] No.
no, pp. 52, 53-

A Triple Alliance. [Leader.] No. 112, p. 68.

The Reaction and the Radicals. [Article.] No.
121, pp. 137, 138.

The Skeleton at the Feast. [Leader.] No. 127,
p. 188.

Counting Noses. [Leader.] No. 128, p. ig6.

Thoughts on Education and Capitalism. [Leader.]
No. i2g, pp. 204, 205.

The Revolt of Ghent. Nos. 130, 131, 132, 133, 134,
135. 136.

Sweaters and Sweaters. No. 1. Matches by the
Factory Drill. No. 132, pp. 225, 226.

Socialistic Work at Norwich. [Leader.] No. 137,
p. 268.

A Modern Midas, [Leader.] No. 141, p. 300.

Talk and Art. [Leader.] No. 154, p. 404.

Whigs Astray. [A Dialogue.] Nos. 158, 159, pp.
18, ig, 26, 27.

Mine and Thine. [Translation of a poem written
in Flanders in the 14th century. Two verses of
ten lines each.] No. 164, p. 67.

Songs for the Celebration. "All for the Cause."

No. 166, p. 85.
Thirty-two rhymed couplets written as a revo-
lutionary song, " to be sung to the air composed
for it by E. Belfort Bax," by the choir of the
Socialist League, at South Place, on March 16th,
1889. The occasion was the celebration of the
anniversary of the Paris Commune.

A Letter from William Morris, dated " Hammer-
smith March 16th, i88g. 3 p.m.", addressed to the
Chairman of the Meeting, Commune Celebration.
No. 167, p. 91.

The Society of the Future. Nos. 168, 169, 170, pp.
g8, 99, 108, 109, 114, 115.

Ducks and Fools. [A Fable, signed " W. M."]
No. 169, p. 107.

Correspondence. No. 175, p. 157.

"A few thoughts suggested by reading the
clauses of the Anarchist Congress at Valentia."
In No. 177 appeared a reply to this, signed "J.
Armsden," entitled, " Looking Forward."

"Looking Backward." No. 180, pp. 194, 195.

Under an Elm-Tree; or, Thoughts in the Country

Side. No. 182, pp. 212, 213.

Communism and Anarchism. [A Letter.] No. 188,

p. 261.

A Death Song. No. 202, p. 371.

" Written to be sung at the funeral of Linnell,
first victim of Bloody Sunday; reprinted by
request." Four verses of eight lines each, with
a refrain of a rhymed couplet.

Monopoly. [Articles.] Nos. 204, 205, 206, pp. 388,

389, 3g4, 401, 402.

News from Nowhere: or, an Epoch of Rest. Being

some chapters from a Utopian Romance.

Appeared serially in Nos. 209, 210, 211,212, 213,
214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 2ig, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224,
225, 226, 227, 228, 22g, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235,
236, 237, 238, 23g, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246,
and 247.

Fabian Essays in Socialism. [A Review by way
of Editorial.] No. 211, pp. 28, 29.

Coal in Kent. [Article.] No. 217, pp. 77.
Christianity and Socialism. [A Letter.] No. 217,
P- 77-
Labour Day. [Article.] No. 225, p. 137.

The " Eight Hours " and the Demonstration.
[Leader.] No. 227, p. 153.

Anti-Parliamentary. [Leader.] No. 230, pp. 180,

181.

The Development of Modern Society. Nos. 236,

237, 238; 239, and 240.

Workhouse Socialism. [Leader.] No. 251, pp.
345, 346.

Where are we Now ? [Leader.] No. 253, pp. 361,
362.

Note. — " Hapless Love," a poem, appeared origin-
ally in " Good Words" (pp. 264-265), April, 1869.
Since going to press I learn that two poems,
"The Voice of Toil" and "The Day of Days,"
both in "Poems by the Way," were reprinted
as a leaflet and distributed to those attending
a meeting of the South Place Ethical Society on
February 21st, i8g7 ; on that occasion Dr. Stanton
Coit lectured on William Morris.
In 1871 Mr. Morris had set up the first page of
his then forthcoming poem, "Love is Enough,"
with ornament engraved by himself from his own
design. The work, however, was never com-
pleted, and only those copies struck off as speci-
mens now remain in the possession of a few
friends and collectors.

In November, i8go, that is, just before the Kelms-
cott Press was established, Mr. Morris had printed
for himself, at the Chiswick Press, " The Story of
Gunnlaug Worm-tongue." The book was printed
in the Press's special Caxton type, and consisted
of eight sheets, pott 4to. in size. There were
seventy-five copies printed on hand-made paper,
and three on vellum. Blank spaces were left for
rubricated initials; but the edition was never
published.

XV11

VII. MR. WILLIAM MORRIS.

ARTICLES ON THE MAN AND HIS WORK.
Criticisms on Contemporaries. No. III.
Mr. William Morris. " Tinsley's Maga-
zine," Vol. III. (pp. 262-277). October,
1868.

William Morris. Portrait. " Once a
Week," Vol. XXVII. (p. 148). 1873.

William Morris. [An Appreciation.]
By R. H. Stoddard. With portrait.
"Appleton's Journal," Vol. VII. (p. 673).
1876.

Our Modern Poets. No. XII. William
Morris. By Thomas Bayne. " St.
James's Magazine," Vol. XLII. [Vol.
XXXIII.] (pp. 94-107). January, 1878.

William Morris, M.A. [Contemporary
Portraits.] With photograph. " Dublin
University Magazine," New Series.
Vol. II. (pp. 552-568). November, 1878.

Hopes and Fears for Art. [A Review.]
"Century Magazine," Vol. XXIV. (pp.
464, 465). July, 1882.

On the Wandle. [An Article on Mr.
Morris's Factory.] " Spectator," Vol.
LVI. (pp. 1507-1509). London. Novem-
ber 24th, 1883.

A Prophet among the Painters. [By
W. J. Stillman.] " Nation," Vol.
XXXIX. (pp. 240, 241) (September 18th,
1884), (pp. 261, 262) (September 25th, 1884).

William Morris at Work. "American
Architect," Vol. XVII. (p. 296). 1884.

William Morris and Socialism. " The
Critic " (U.S.A.), Vol. VII. (pp. 176, 213).
1885.

A Day in Surrey with William Morris.
By Emma Lazarus. With portrait by
Lisa Stillman, and illustrations by
Joseph Pennell and W. J. Stillman.
" Century Magazine," Vol. XXXII. (pp.
388-397). July, 1886.

As a footnote in one of the pages of this article
is a letter from Mr. Morris to Miss Lazarus,
dated April 21st, 1884, on profit-sharing. In the
same issue is an editorial, headed, " Negation
not a Remedy," by way of a criticism on Mr.
Morris's views on the Labour Question.

William Morris as a Political Revolu-
tionist. "Saturday Review," Vol. LXV.
(p. 607). 1888.

The Art Socialists
Mary Bacon Ford,
portrait of Morris,
(pp. 185-190). 1889.

of London. By
Illustrated with
" Cosmopolitan "

Free Studies from Life. III. William
Morris. By J. Morrison Davidson.
" The Star," August 16th, 1890. With
a portrait of W. Morris. One column.

William Morris. By R. M. Lovett.
" Harvard Monthly," Vol. XII. (p. 149).
1891.

On William Morris : a Poem. By A.
E. Cross. " New England Magazine,"
Vol. III. (p. 731). February, 1891.

William Morris. By W. Clarke. " New
England Magazine " (Mass.) N. S.,
Vol. III. (p. 740). February, 1891.

William Morris. By M. Hewlett.
" National Review," Vol. XVII. (p. 818).
August, 1891.

Poet as Printer : Interview with Wil-
liam Morris. " Pall Mall Gazette,"
November 12th, 1891.

Three English Poets. By Louise C.
Moulton. "Arena" (U.S.A.), Vol. VI.
(p. 46). June, 1892.

William Morris. By F. Richardson.
" Primitive Methodist Quarterly Re-
view " (U.S.A.), Vol. XXXIV. (p. 414).
July, 1892.

Some Thoughts upon Beauty in Typo-
graphy suggested by the Work of Mr.
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press.
With initial, tailpiece, and illustrations
in facsimile of the work of the Kelm-
scott Press. By G. Francis Watt Lee.
" The Knight Errant " (Boston, U.S.A.),
Vol. I., No. 2 (pp. 53-63). 1892.

Master Printer Morris. Interview with
Mr. William Morris. " Daily Chro-
nicle," February 22nd, 1893.

The Socialist Thread in the Life and
Work of William Morris. By Professor
O. L. Triggs. "Poet Lore " (U.S.A.),
Vol. V. (p. 113). March, 1893— Vol. V.
(p. 210). April, 1893.

Art, Craft, and Life. Interview with
Mr. William Morris. " Daily Chro-
nicle," October 9th, 1893.

An English Socialist [William Morris].
" London Quarterly," Vol. XXII. (p.
83). April, 1894.

On the Revival of Tapestry-Weaving.
An Interview with William Morris.
By Aymer Vallance. Illustrated.
" Studio," Vol. III. (p. 99). July, 1894.

xviii

M. William Morris et l'Art decoratif en
Angleterre — par Jean Lahor (Dr. Henri
Cazalis). Illustrated. " Revue Ency-
clopedique," 15 Aout, 1894. Vol. IV.,
No. 89 (pp. 349-359)-

The Esthetes. By Thomas F. Plow-
man. " Pall Mall Magazine," January,
1895 (pp. 27-44), with portrait of Morris,
after a drawing by Miss C. M. Watts.

William Morris at the Kelmscott Press.
Illustrated. " English Illustrated Maga-
zine," Vol. XIII. (p. 47). April, 1895.

Gossip about an Old House on the
Upper Thames. "The Quest," No. 4.
November, 1895. Birmingham.

An illustrated article by William Morris, occu-
pying the first fourteen pages of the issue. Re-
printed with an illustration of a reduction of the
first page of the Kelmscott " Chaucer" in " Bradley
His Book." Vol. I., No. II. (pp. 27-32), Spring-
field, Mass., U.S.A. June, r8g6.

William Morris in Unpublished Letters
on Socialism ; a Poet's Politics, by
W. G. Kingsland. " Poet Lore," Vol.
VII. (pp. 473, 543). October and Novem-
ber, 1895.

The Kelmscott Press of William Morris.
With a Bibliography by Ernest Dressel
North. "The Book Buyer" (New
York, U.S.A.) November, 1895.

The Kelmscott Press. An Illustrated
Interview with Mr. William Morris.
Portrait and reproductions. By I. H. I.
[Temple Scott.] " Bookselling," Christ-
mas, 1895 (pp. 2-14).

Contains a Bibliography of the Kelmscott Press
publications.

The Kelmscott Press. Being part of a
paper read at the Philobiblon Club at
Philadelphia, and including an unpub-
lished account of the press written
specially for the occasion by Mr. Morris
himself. " Modern Art " (Boston,
U.S.A.) (pp. 36-39). April 1st, 1896.

William Morris. [Obituary Notice.]
" The Times," October 5th, 1896.

William Morris : an Appreciation. By
Joseph Pennell, "The Daily Chronicle,"
October 5th, 1896.

Death of William Morris. " The Stand-
ard," October 5th, 1896.

William Morris. [Leader.] " Pall
Mall Gazette," October 5th, i8g6.

William Morris. By Edmund Gosse.
" St. James's Gazette," October 5th,
1896.

William Morris. Personal Character-
istics. " St. James's Gazette," October
5th, 1896.

William Morris — a Few Reminiscences.
By " A Comrade." " Westminster Ga-
zette," October 5th, 1896.

Recollections of William Morris. By
One who Knew Him. " The Daily
Chronicle," October 6th, 1896.

William Morris as a Socialist. By G.
Bernard Shaw. " The Daily Chronicle,"
October 6th, 1896.

William Morris. By Richard Le Gal-
lienne. " The Star," October 7th, i8g6.

Mr. 'William Morris. By Theodore
Watts - Dunton. "The Athenaeum,"
No. 3598 (pp. 486-488). October 10th,
1896.

William Morris. I. Morris as Actor
and Dramatist. By G. B. S. [George
Bernard Shaw.] II. Morris as Poet.
By Arthur Symons. III. With the
North-West Wind. By R. B. Cunning-
hame-Graham. " Saturday Review,"
No. 2137 (pp. 385-390). October 10th,
1896.

William Morris. " The Spectator,"
No. 3563 (pp. 478, 479). October 10th,
1896.

■William Morris. By H. Buxton-For-
man. " Illustrated London News,"
October 10th, i8g6.

A Literary Causerie. Mr. William
Morris. By A. T. Q. C. [A. T. Quiller-
Couch.] "The Speaker," No. 354 (pp.
3gi, 392). October 10th, i8g6.

In Memoriam : William Morris. [A
Poem.] ByS. E.W. "The Speaker,"
No. 354 (p. 3gi). October 10th, 1896.

The Late William Morris, Art Crafts-
man and Poet. By Aymer Vallance.
" The Artist." (Arts and Crafts Special
Number.) (Pp. 1-8.) October 12th, 1896.

Illustrated with two portraits and views of
Kelmscott.

Mr. William Morris on the Platform.
Some Reminiscences by One who Knew
Him. " Daily News," October 14th,
i8g6.

XIX

English Interiors — William Morris and
his Influence. A Chat with Mr. Walter
Crane. " Daily News," October 20th,
1896.

William Morris as Printer. By Herbert
P. Home. " Saturday Review," Vol.
LXXXII. (pp. 438, 439). October 24th,
i8g6.

In Memoriam. William Morris. "The
Marlburian," Vol. XXXI., No. 490 (pp.
153, 154), Marlborough. October 28th,
1896.

William Morris : a Eulogy. By J. Mac-
kenzie Bell. " Fortnightly Review "
(pp. 693-702). November, 1896.

■William Morris. By Walter Crane.
" The Progressive Review," No. 2.
November, 1896.

The End of the Kelmscott Press. "The
Academy," No. 1284 (p. 530). December
12th, 1896.

William Morris. By Edward Carpenter.
" The Labour Leader," with portrait
supplement. December 19th, 1896.

Appeared in the Christmas number of " The
Labour Leader."

William Morris : an Appreciation. By
Rev. A. L. Lilley. " The Common-
wealth," December, i8g6.

William Morris. By Herbert P. Home.
"Saturday Review" (pp. 1-4. First
Illustrated Supplement). Christmas,
1896.

The article is illustrated with a portrait of Wil-
liam Morris, reproduced in half-tone, from the
painting by G. F. Watts, R.A.

William Morris. By Aymer Vallance.
"The Artist," Special Arts and Crafts
Number, 1896.

Illustrated with a portrait and picture of Kelm-
scott Manor, from photographs by Mr. Frederick
Evans.

William Morris : The Man and his
Work. By William Sharp. " Atlantic
Monthly" (Boston, U.S.A.) (pp. 768-
781). December, 1896.

William Morris— The Poet. By J. J. C.
— The Printing of William Morris. By
Theo. L. De Vinne. — Addendum of
Bibliography of the Kelmscott Press
Publications. By Ernest Dressel North.
— Some Memories of William Morris.
By Katherine Tynan. " The Book
Buyer " (New York, U.S.A.), Vol. XIII.,
No. 12 (pp. 917-926). January, 1897.

Illustrated with portrait, view of Kelmscott
Manor, and specimens of Kelmscott printing.

Originality in Printing. "The Inland
Printer" (Chicago, U.S. A.), Vol. XVIII.,
No. 4 (pp. 413, 414). January, 1897.
A "leader" on Kelmscott Press work.

Recollections of William Morris. " The
Artist," No. 206 (pp. 61-64). February,
1897.

With illustrations.

William Morris : a Memory, Personal
and Otherwise. By J. C. Kenworth.
" The New Century Review," No. 1,
(pp. 77-82), January, 1897 — No. 2 (pp.
124-132), February, 1897.

William Morris, Poet and Revolutionist.
By D. F. Hannigan. " Westminster
Review," Vol. CXLVIL, No. 2 (pp. 117-
119). February, 1897.

The Recent Revival in Printing and its
Development in 1896. By L. B. " The
Literary Year Book, 1897 " (PP- 140-146).
Edited by F. G. Aflalo. George Allen,
1897.

Wm. Morris : Master Printer. Frank
Colebrook.

[Colophon :] Tunbridge 'Wells : Lewis
Hepworth and Company, Limited, Prin-
ters and Publishers.

Cr. 8vo, n.d. Green boards, portrait of William
Morris (reproduced by permission of "The Daily
Chronicle") as frontispiece, one leaf; title, one
leaf; dedication, one leaf, -f pp. 1-40 (last leaf
containing imprint only) + 1 blank leaf. With
three portraits in the text of Caxton, Wynkyn de
Worde, and Caslon I.

VIII. MR. MORRIS'S WRIT-
INGS.

REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS UPON.
The Defence of Guenevere, and other
Poems. By William Morris. [A Re-
view.] " Athenaeum" (pp. 427, 428).
April 3rd, 1858.

The Life and Death of Jason: a Poem.
By 'William Morris. [A Review.]
" Athenaeum " (pp. 779, 780). June 15th,
1867.

Life and Death of Jason. [A Review.]
By A. C. Swinburne. " Fortnightly
Review," Vol. VIII. (pp. 19-28). July
1st, 1867.

The same article was reprinted in the American
"Every Saturday," Vol. IV. (p. 115.)

Life and Death of Jason. [A Review by
Prof. C. E. Norton.] " Nation," Vol.
V. (pp. 146, 147). August 22nd, 1867.

Life and Death of Jason. [A Review.]
By Henry James. North American
Review. Vol. CV. (p. 688).

The Earthly Paradise : a Poem. By
William Morris. [A Review.] " Athe-
naeum " (pp. 753, 754). May 30th, 1868.

A letter concerning the announcement of the
" Athenaeum's " on this book, by William
Morris, is in the issue for April 25th, 1868 (p. 593).
The above review was reprinted in " Littell's
Living Age," Vol. XCVIII. (pp. 74-78). Boston.
July 4th, 1868.

The Earthly Paradise. [A Review.]

".Saturday Review," Vol. XXV. (pp.

73°> 73 1 )- May 30th, 1868.

This review was reprinted in the " Eclectic

Magazine," Vol. LXXIV. (pp. 437-440). New

York, April, 1870.

The Earthly Paradise. [A Review.]
By W. H. Browne. " Southern Review,"
N. S., Vol. IV. (p. 383). Charleston,
U.S.A.

An article by the same writer on the same
subject appeared in the " New Eclectic, " Vol.
VI. (p. 578). Baltimore.

The Earthly Paradise. " Edinburgh
Review," Vol. CXXXIII. (pp. 243-266).
Edinburgh, January, 1871.

The Earthly Paradise. A Review of.
" Quarterly Review," Vol. CXXXII.

(PP- 59-84). London, January, 1872.

The same article appeared in the " Eclectic
Magazine " (N.Y.), Vol. LXXVIII. (p. 386). Also
in "Every Saturday" (U.S.A.), Vol. XIII. (p.
429).

Love is Enough : or, the Freeing of
Pharamond : a Morality. By William
Morris. [A Review.] " Athenaeum "
(pp. 657, 658). November 23rd, 1872.

Love is Enough. [A Review.] " Dark
Blue," Vol. IV. (p. 627). London.

An article in review of this poem appeared in the
" Southern Magazine," Vol. XII. (p. 491). It was
written by W. H. Browne.

The Aeneids of Virgil, done into English
Verse. By 'William Morris. [A Re-
view by H. Nettleship.] "Academy,"
Vol. VIII. (pp. 493, 494). November
13th, 1875.

The Story of Sigurd the Volsung. [A
Review by Professor Henry Morley, in
an article entitled " Recent Literature."]
" Nineteenth Century," Vol. II. (pp.
704-712). London, November, 1877.

" Sigurd " and the " Nibelungenlied."
By Henry G. Hewlett. " Fraser's
Magazine," Vol. CVI. (pp. 96-112). July,

1877.

Hopes and Fears for Art. [A Review by
E. Simcox.] " Fortnightly Review,"
Vol. XXXVII. (p. 771).

Hopes and Fears for Art : Five Lec-
tures. - By W. Morris. [A Review.]
"Athenaeum" (pp.374, 375). September
16th, 1882.

Poems of William Morris. Selections
from, in " Living English Poets."
London : Kegan Paul and Co. 1883.
(pp. 214-233).

The selections are from " Guenevere," " Jason,"
"The Earthly Paradise," and "Love is Enough."

The Odyssey of Homer. Done into
English Verse by William Morris. [A
Review by E. D. A. Morshead.] " Aca-
demy," Vol. XXXI. (p. 299). April 30th,
1887.

"Esthetic Poetry," by W. H. Pater,
in the volume " Appreciations " (pp.
213-227). London : Macmillan and Co.
1889. Sm. 8vo.

The article itself is dated 1868. It forms a
review of Mr. Morris's "Defence of Guenevere,"
"Jason," and " The Earthly Paradise."

The House of the Wolfings. [A Re-
view.] By Charles Elton. "Academy,"
Vol. XXXV. (pp. 85, 86). London,
February 9th, 1889.

A Tale of the House of the Wolfings.
A Review by Henry G. Hewlett.
"Nineteenth Century," Vol. XXVI. (pp.
337-341). London, August, 1889.

The House of the Wolfings. [A Re-
view.] " Athenaeum," Vol. II. (1889)
(pp. 347-350). London, September 14th,
1889.

The House of the Wolfings. [A Re-
view.] " Atlantic Monthly," Vol. LXV.
(p. 851).

The House of the Wolfings. [A Re-
view.] "Saturday Review," Vol. LXVII.
(p. 101). London.

William Morris and the Meaning of

Life. By F. W. Myers. " Nineteenth

Century," Vol.XXXIII. (p.93). January,

1893.

A Priest of Gothic. A Review of Gothic

Architecture, a Lecture by W. Morris.

" Daily Chronicle," January 2nd, 1894.

Poetry of William Morris. By G.
Saintsbury. "The Critic" (U.S.A.),
Vol. XXV. (p. 101). August 18th, 1894.

XXI

William Morris's Last Work. A Re-
view of " The Well at the World's
End." "Daily Chronicle," October igth,
1896.

Mr. William Morris's Story. [A Re-
view of" The Roots of the Mountains."]
" Spectator," Vol. LXIV. (pp. 208, 209).
London, February 8th, 1890.

News from Nowhere. By William
Morris. [A Review by Lionel Johnson
of Mr. Morris's Socialistic Views.]
"Academy," Vol. XXXIX. (pp. 483,484).
May 23rd, i8gi.

News from Nowhere. A Review.
" Review of Reviews," Vol. III. (p.
509). May, 1891.

News from Nowhere. [A Review.]
By M. Hewlett. " National Review,"
Vol. XVII. (p. 818).

Poems by the Way. [A Review.]
"Athenaeum" (pp. 336-338). March
12th, 1892.

Socialism, its Growth and Outcome by
W. Morris and E. Belfort Bax. [A Re-
view.] " Athenaeum " (p. 695). Novem-
ber 18th, 1893.

The Wood beyond the World. By
William Morris. [A Review.] " Athe-
naeum " (pp. 273, 274). March 2nd,
1895.

The Tale of Beowulf, some time King
of the Folk of the Weden Geats. Done
out of the Old English tongue by
William Morris and A. J. Wyatt. [A
Review (by Theodore Watts-Dunton.)]
" Athenaeum " (pp. 181, 182). August
10th, 1895.

Poems by William Morris. [A Review
of " Guenevere," "Jason," and "The
Earthly Paradise."] " Westminster
Review," Vol. XC. (pp. 300-312). Octo-
ber, 1868.

■William Morris and Matthew Arnold.
A Letter from a Hermitage. By Shirley
[J. Skelton]. " Fraser's Magazine,"
Vol. LXXIX. (pp. 230-244). February,
1869.

Morris's Poems. [A Review.] " Black-
wood's Magazine," Vol. CVI. (pp. 56-
73). Edinburgh, July, 1869.

A Review of " The Life and Death of Jason,"
and " The Earthly Paradise."
The same article appeared in Little's " Living
Age," Vol. CI I. (p. 399).

The Poetry of the Period. Mr. Matthew
Arnold. Mr. Morris. " Temple Bar,"
Vol. XXVII. (pp. 35-50). August, 1869.

Morris's Poetry. [A Review of " The
Defence of Guenevere," "The Life and
Death of Jason," and " The Earthly
Paradise." " London Quarterly Re-
view," Vol. XXXIII. (pp. 330-360).
January, 1870.

Morris's Poems. [A Review of "Jason"
and " The Earthly Paradise."] " The
Christian Observer," Vol. LXX. (pp.
196-208). London, March, 1870.

The Poetry of William Morris. [A
Review by D. Casserly.] " The Catholic
World," Vol. XII. (pp. 89-98). New
York, October, 1870.

The Later Labours of William Morris.
" Tinsley's Magazine," Vol. VII. (pp.
457-465). November, 1870.

A Review of " Grettis Saga," "The Saga of
Gunnlaug," "The Earthly Paradise " (Pt. III.),
and " Volsunga Saga."

Geoffrey Chaucer and William Morris.
" New Monthly Magazine," Vol.
CXLIX. (pp. 280-286). September, 1871.

The Poems of Mr. Morris. By Henry
G. Hewlett. " Contemporary Review,"
Vol. XXV. (pp. 100-124). London,
December, 1874.

A Review of "The Defence of Guenevere and
other Poems," "The Life and Death of Jason,"
"The Earthly Paradise," and "Love is Enough."

The Poems of William Morris. By
R. K. Weekes. " New England Maga-
zine," Vol. XXX. (p. 557). Boston
(U.S.A.).

The Poetry of William Morris. By
Andrew Lang. " Contemporary Re-
view," Vol. XLII. (pp. 200-217). Lon-
don, August, 1882.

Erlanger Beitrage zur Englischen Philo-
logie. Herausgegeben von Hermann
Varnhagen. IX. Heft. Die Quellen
von William Morris' Dichtung The
Earthly Paradise von Julius Riegel.
Erlangen & Leipzig . . . 1890. 8vo.

4 prel. leaves of titles and contents, + 76 pp.
bound in yellow wrapper.

William Morris's Last Work. " Daily
Chronicle," October 19th, 1896.
A Review of " The Well at the World's End."

Mr. Morris's Poems. By Andrew Lang.
" Longman's Magazine," October, 1896.

XXII

William Morris, Poet and Craftsman.
" Edinburgh Review " (pp. 63-83). Janu-
ary, 1897.

AReviewof the " Poetical Works of W. Morris,"
"Gothic Architecture," and "Hopes and Fears
for Art."

The Well at the World's End : a Tale
[a Review]. "The Athenaeum," No.
3617 (pp. 237-239). February 20th, 1897.

Two Papers on Mr. Morris's Poetry in
"Corrected Impressions," by George
Saintsbury.

Our Living Poets, By H. Buxton For-
man. XIV. William Morris. (Pp. 375-
426.) London : Tinsley Brothers. 1871.
Sm. 8vo.

" Victorian Literature" in the volume,
" Transcripts and Studies," by Profes-
sor E. Dowden (pp. 153-256). London :
Kegan Paul and Co. 1880. Sm. 8vo.
A criticism on Mr. Morris's poetry.

William Morris. By H. Buxton For-
man. An article of 14 pages, with a
selection from the Works of Mr. Morris
(pp. 15-80) in " The Poets and the
Poetry of the Century." Edited by
Alfred H. Miles. Vol. [William Morris
to Robert Buchanan.] London, n.d.
[1891.]

IX. PUBLICATIONS OF
THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.

The Story of the Glittering | Plain.
Which has been also | called the Land
of Living | men or the Acre of the un-
] dying, written by William | Morris.
[Colophon] Here endeth the Glittering
Plain, printed by William Morris at the
Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Hammer-
smith, in the County of Middlesex : and
finished on the 4th day of April of the
year 1891. Sold by Reeves & Turner,
196 Strand, London.

Small 4to., vellum. Four blank leaves; title
and table of chapters, one leaf; b — b b in fours
{last two leaves blank, and one blank leaf as end-
paper).

zoo printed on paper at £2 2s. each, and 6 on
vellum.

Poems by the Way. Written | by
William Morris.

[Colophon] Here endeth Poems by the
Way, written by William Morris, and
printed by him at the Kelmscott Press,
Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the

County of Middlesex ; and finished on
the 24th day of September of the year

1891. Sold by Reeves & Turner, 196,
Strand, London.

Small 4to., vellum. 3 blank leaves; title, one
leaf; contents, one leaf ; b — o in eights (last four
leaves blank).

In all the publications of this Press it must be
noted that the paste-downs on the covers form
part of the signatures. I have not always in-
cluded these leaves in my collations, in order to
avoid repetition, but I give the fact to account
for the odd number of blank leaves.
300 printed on paper at £2 2s. each, in black and
red, and 13 on vellum.

The Love Lyrics & Songs of Proteus by
Wilfrid Scawen | Blunt with the Love
Son- I nets of Proteus by the same |
Author now reprinted in | their full text
with many | sonnets omitted from the |
earliereditions. | London MDCCCXCII.
[Colophon] Here end the Love-Lyrics
and Songs of Proteus, written by Wil-
frid Scawen Blunt : with the Love-
Sonnets of Proteus by the same author.
Printed by William Morris at the Kelm-
scott Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith,
in the County of Middlesex, and finished
on the 26th day of January of the year

1892. Sold by Reeves and Turner, 196,
Strand, London.

Small 4to., vellum. Three blank leaves; title,

one leaf; contents, 4 leaves ; b — r in eights (last

two leaves blank). There is a separate title to

each of the four parts into which the poems are

divided.

300 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.

each.

The Nature of Gothic a chap- | ter of
the Stones of Venice | by John Rus-
kin. I

[Colophon] Here ends the Nature of
Gothic, by John Ruskin, printed by
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press,
Hammersmith, and published by George
Allen, 8, Bell Yard, Temple Bar, Lon-
don, and Sunnyside, Orpington.

Small 4to., vellum. Four blank leaves ; title,

one leaf (with preface beginning on verso); pt.

of preface, 2 leaves; b — i in eights + 3 blank

leaves.

500 printed at 30s. each. Issued February t5tb,

lS02.

The Defence of Guenevere, | and other
Poems. By William Morris.
[Colophon] Here ends the Defence of
Guenevere, and other Poems, written
by William Morris ; and printed by him
at the Kelmscott Press, 14 Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Middle-
sex : & finished on the 2nd day of April,

xxm

of the year 1892. Sold by Reeves and
Turner, 196, Strand, London.

Small 4to., vellum. Four blank leaves ; title and
contents, 1 leaf; b — m 6 in eights (last leaf
blank) + 3 blank leaves.

300 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s,
each, and 10 on vellum.

A Dream of [ John Ball | and a King's |
Lesson. By William Morris. |
[Colophon] This book, A Dream of John
Ball and a King's Lesson, was written
by William Morris, and printed by him
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Middle-
sex ; and finished on the 13th day of
May, 1892. Sold by Reeves & Turner,
196, Strand, London.

Small 4to., vellum. Five blank leaves ; title, one
leaf; frontispiece by E. Burne-Jones, one leaf;
b — i 6 in eights + 3 blank leaves.
300 printed in black and red on paper at 30^.
each, and 11 on vellum.

The Golden | Legend | of Master | Wil-
liam I Caxton I done anew. |
[Colophon] Here ends this new edition
of William Caxton's Golden Legend : in
which there is no change from the origi-
nal, except for correction of errors of
the press, & some few other amend-
ments thought necessary for the under-
standing of the text. It is edited by
Frederick S. Ellis, & printed by me
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press,
Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the
County of Middlesex, and finished on
the 12th day of September of the year
1892. Sold by Bernard Quaritch, 15,
Piccadilly, London.

3 vols. Large 4to.

Vol. I. — 2 blank leaves; title on sig. ai; sig a, 7

leaves, incl. title (the eighth leaf is cut off by

binders); b — g g in eights + 2 blank leaves.

Vol. II.— One blank leaf; title, one leaf; hh—

i i i, in eights + 2 blank leaves.

Vol. III.— One blank leaf; title, one leaf; kkk

— n n n n in eights (last leaf cut off to go under

the paste-down) + 1 blank leaf.

500 printed on paper at ^5 5s. each, with two

woodcuts designed by E. Burne-Jones.

The I Recuyell | of the ] Historyes | of
Troye. |

[Colophon] Here ends this new edition
of William Caxton's Recuyell of the
Historyes of Troy', done after the first
Edition : corrected for the press by H.
Halliday Sparling, and printed by me
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press,
Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the
County of Middlesex, & finished on the
fourteenth day of October, 1892. Sold
by Bernard Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly.

2 vols. Large 410., vellum. Vol. I.— Three

blank leaves ; title on sig. a i (unsigned) ; a ii —

u in eights (last three leaves blank).

Vols. II. and III. (in 1 book).— Three blank

leaves ; x — b b b in eights (one leaf cut off in the

binding and 5 blank).

300 printed on paper at £g gs, each, and 5 on

vellum.

Biblia Innocentium : | being the story
of God's cho I sen people before the
com I ing of our Lord Jesus Christ |
upon earth, written anew | for children
by J. W. Mackail, | sometime fellow of
Balliol I College, Oxford. [
[Colophon] Here ends this book called
Biblia Innocentium, written by J. W.
Mackail, and printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, 14, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex ; finished on the 22nd day of
October, of the year 1892.

8vo., vellum. Two preliminary blank leaves ;
title, one leaf; List of Chapters, 4 leaves; b — r
in eights (last three leaves blank, including end-
paper and paste-down).
200 printed at 21s. each.

News from Nowhere : or, | An Epoch
of Rest, being some | Chapters from
a Utopian Ro [ mance, by William
Morris.

[Colophon] This book, News from No-
where or an Epoch of Rest, was written
by William Morris, and printed by him
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, and finished on the 22nd day of
November, 1892. Sold by Reeves and
Turner, 196, Strand, London.

Small 4to., vellum. Four blank leaves ; title,
one leaf; contents, one leaf; frontispiece, by
C. M. Gere, one leaf; b — x in eights (last six
leaves blank, and the eighth used as paste-
down).

300 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s,
each, and 10 on vellum.

The I History | of | Reynard I theFoxe I
[Colophon] Here ends the History of
Reynard the Foxe, done into English
out of Dutch by William Morris, at the
Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Hammer-
smith, in the County of Middlesex.
This book was corrected for the press
by Henry Halliday Sparling, and fin-
ished on the 15th day of December, 1892.
Sold by Bernard Quaritch, 15, Picca-
dilly, London.

Folio, vellum. Three blank leaves ; printed
title, one leaf; table and ornamental title, 2
leaves; b — m in eights (one leaf has been cut off
short before the " table of some strange words,"
five leaves are blank, and two of these are used
as end-paper and paste-down).
300 printed on paper at £3 3*. each, and 10 on
vellum,

XXIV

[Colophon] Here ends the edition of
Shakespeare's Poems, edited by Frede-
rick S. Ellis and printed by me William
Morris at the Kelmscott Press, Upper
Mall, Hammersmith, in the County of
Middlesex, and finished on the 17th day
of January, 1893. Sold by Reeves and
Turner, 196 Strand.
8vo., vellum. Three blank leaves; Foreword,
one leaf; title, one leaf; title to "Venus and
Adonis," one leaf; b — p in eights (sig. p5 has
printer's mark, sigs. p 6, p 7, p 8, are blank) + 2
blank leaves. This is an exact reprint of the
first editions.

500 printed in black and red on paper at 25*.
each, and 10 on vellum.

The I Order of | Chivalry [ —[and]— The
Ordination of Knighthood.
[Colophon] The Order of Chivalry,
translated from the French by William
Caxton, edited by F. S. Ellis, & printed
by me William Morris at the Kelmscott
Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in
the County of Middlesex, & finished on
the 10th day of November, 1892. Sold
by Reeves & Turner, ig6, Strand, Lon-
don.

[Colophon] This Ordination of Knight-
hood was printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, Uppex Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex ; finished on the 24th day of Feb-
ruary, 1893.
Small 4to., vellum. Two blank leaves ; title and
part of table, one leaf; frontispiece by Burne-
Jones, with remainder of table on recto, one
leaf; b — 1 in eights + 2 blank leaves.
225 printed on paper at £2 2s. each, and 10 on
vellum.

The Life of Thomas Wolsey, | Cardinal
Archbishop of York | written by George
Cavendish |

[Colophon] Transcribed after the auto-
graph manuscript of the author, now in
the British Museum, by F. S. Ellis, and
finished the 25th day of December, in
the year 1892, in the Parish of Cocking-
ton in the County of Devon, and printed
by me William Morris, at the Kelm-
scott Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith,
in the County of Middlesex, and finished
on the 30th day of March, 1893. Sol d
by Reeves and Turner, ig6, Strand.
Small 4to., vellum. Four blank leaves ; Fore-
word, one leaf; title, one leaf; part of Prologue,
one leaf; b — t in eights + 3 blank leaves.
250 printed on paper at £2 2j, each, and 6 on
vellum.

The History of Godfrey of Bo- j loyne
and of the Conquest of | Iherusalem. |
[Colophon] This new edition of 'Wil-
liam Caxton's Godeffroy of Boloyne,
done after the first edition, was cor-
rected for the press by H. Halliday
Sparling, and printed by me, William
Morris, at the Kelmscott Press, Upper
Mall, Hammersmith, in the County of
Middlesex, and finished on the 27th day
of April, 1893. Sold by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press.

Folio, vellum. Two blank leaves ; printed title,
one leaf; Foreword and Contents, 10 leaves;
ornamental title, one leaf; b — gg in eights (one
leaf has been cut off short in binding, 5 leaves
are blank, and two of these are used as end-paper
and paste-down).

300 printed in black and red on paper at £6 6s.
each, and 6 on vellum.

Utopia written by Sir | Thomas More |
[Colophon] Now revised by F. S. Ellis
and printed again by William Morris at
the Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith, in
the County of Middlesex, finished the
4th day of August, 1893. Sold by Reeves
and Turner, 196, Strand.

8vo., vellum. Two blank leaves ; title, "one leaf ;
" Foreword by William Morris," 3 leaves; advt.
of the printer of the second edition, one leaf;
" The Translator to the Gentle Reader," 2
leaves; b — t in eights (last two leaves blank);
printer's imprint on sig. t 6.

300 printed in red and black on paper at 30^.
each, and 10 on vellum.

Maud I A Mono- [ Drama by | Alfred |
Lord Tennyson |

[Colophon] Printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, and finished on the nth day of
August, 1893. Published by Macmillan
& Co., Bedford Street, Strand.

8vo., vellum. Five blank leaves; printed title,
one leaf; ornamental title, one leaf; b — f in
eights (last sheet unsigned, and last five leaves
blank, including end-paper and paste-down).
500 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.
each, and 5 on vellum, which were not for sale.

Sidonia the Sorceress by William |
Meinhold translated by Francesca Sper-
anza Lady Wilde. |

[Colophon] Here ends the Story of
Sidonia the Sorceress translated from
the German of William Meinhold, by
Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde, and
now reprinted by me, William Morris,
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex. Finished on the 15th day of
September, 1893.

XXV

Folio, vellum. Three blank leaves; printed
title, one leaf; Preface, &c, 3 leaves; List of
Chapters, 3 leaves ; b — g g in eights (last four
leaves blank, two of which being used as end-
paper and paste-down).

300 printed in black and red on paper at £4 4r.
each, and 10 on vellum.

Gothic Architecture : | A lecture for the
Arts I and Crafts Exhibition | Society
by William | Morris. |
[Colophon] This paper, first spoken as
a lecture at the New Gallery, for the
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, in
the year 1889, was printed by the Kelm-
scott Press during the Arts and Crafts
Exhibition at the New Gallery, Regent
Street, London, 1893. Sold by William
Morris, Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith.

i6mo. One blank leaf ; title, one leaf ; a — e4 in
eights (2 blank leaves) + 2 blank leaves. Pub-
lished at 2s. 6d.

Ballads I and | Narrative | Poems by |
Dante Gabriel | Rossetti j
[Colophon] Here ends the book of
Ballads and Narrative Poems, written
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and printed
by William Morris at the Kelmscott
Press, 14, Upper Mall, Hammersmith,
in the County of Middlesex, finished
on the 14th day of October, of the year
1893. Published by Ellis & Elvey, 29,
New Bond Street.

8vo., vellum. Four blank leaves ; printed title,
one leaf (table of contents on verso) ; orna-
mental title, one leaf; b — q in eights (sig. q 2
has printer's mark, the other leaves of the sig.
are blank, the last two being used as end-paper
and paste-down).

310 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.
each, and 6 on vellum.

Of I King Florus | and the j fair Jehane ]
[Colophon] Printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex & finished on the 16th day of
December, 1893. Sold by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press.

i6mo. One blank leaf; printed title, one leaf;
ornamental title, one leaf; b — g in eights; one
leaf containing colophon on recto, and two final
blank leaves.

350 printed in black and red on paper at js. 6d.
each, and 12 on vellum.

in the County of Middlesex, & finished
on the 13th day of January, 1894.

Folio, vellum. Five blank leaves ; printed title,
one leaf (with "List of Chapters" on verso);
ornamental title, one leaf; b — n in eights (in-
cluding 6 blank leaves, the last of which is used
as the paste-down).

250 printed in black and red on paper at ,£5 ss.
each, and 7 on vellum.

Sonnets | and | Lyrical | Poems by |
Dante | Gabriel | Rossetti |
[Colophon] Here ends the book of
Sonnets and Lyrical Poems, written by
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and printed by
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press,
14 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the
County of Middlesex ; finished on the
20th day of February of the year 1894.
Sold by Ellis & Elvey, 29, New Bond
Street, W.

Small 4to., vellum. Four blank leaves ; printed
title, one leaf; Table of Contents, 4 leaves;
ornamental title, one leaf; b — o in eights (sig.
o 3 has printer's mark, sigs. o 4 — o 8 are blank,
and the last two are used as end-paper and
paste-down).

310 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.
each, and 6 on vellum.

The I Poems | of | John | Keats |
[Colophon] Overseen after the text of
foregoing editions by F. S. Ellis, and
printed by me William Morris at the
Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Hammer-
smith, in the County of Middlesex, and
finished on the 7th day of March, 1894.
Sold by William Morris at the Kelm-
scott Press.

8vo. Three blank leaves; printed title, one
leaf; Table of Contents, one leaf; ornamental
title, one leaf; b — b b in eights + one leaf with
printer's mark 4- 5 blank leaves.
300 printed in black and red on paper at 30*.
each, and 7 on vellum.

Of the I Friendship | of | Amis | and
Amile I .

[Colophon] Here ends the story of Amis
& Amile, done out of the ancient French
into English by William Morris and
printed by the said William Morris, at
the Kelmscott Press, 14, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex ; finished on the 13th day of
March, of the year 1894. Sold by Wil-
liam Morris, at the Kelmscott Press.

l6mo. Three blank leaves; title, one leaf ; b — f4
in eights (last two leaves blank).
500 copies printed at ys. 6d. each.

[Colophon] Here ends Atalanta in
Calydon, a Tragedy made by Algernon

XXVI

Charles Swinburne, and printed by
William Morris, at the Kelmscott Press,
Upper Mall, Hammersmith in the
County of Middlesex : finished on the
4th day of May, 1894. Note that the
Greek letters in this book were designed
by Selwyn Image for Messrs. Macmillan
& Co., -who have kindly allowed them
to be used here. Sold by William
Morris, at the Kelmscott Press.

Folio, vellum. Two blank leaves ; printed title,
and Dedication to Landor, 2 leaves; "The
Persons " and " The Argument," one leaf; orna-
mental title, one leaf; b — g in eights (seven
leaves of sig. g are blank, and the last two are
used as end-paper and paste-down).
250 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.
each.

The Wood beyond the World. | By

William Morris. |

[Colophon] Here ends the tale of the
'Wood beyond the World, made by
William Morris, and printed by him at
the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Ham-
mersmith, finished the 30th day of May,
1894. Sold by William Morris, at the
Kelmscott Press.

Small 4to., vellum. Five blank leaves ; title,
one leaf; frontispiece by Burne-Jones, one leaf;
b — s in eights (last five leaves blank, including
paste-down).

350 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.
each, and 8 on vellum. With a woodcut de-
signed by Sir E. Burne-Jones.

The Tale of the | Emperor Coustans ]
and of Over Sea.

[Colophon] This book, the Stories of
the Emperor Coustans, and of Over
Sea, was printed by William Morris at
the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Ham-
mersmith, in the County of Middlesex,
and finished on the 30th day of August,
1894. Sold by William Morris at the
Kelmscott Press.

i6mo. Five blank leaves (including end-paper
and paste-down); printed title, one leaf; orna-
mental title, one leaf; b — k in eights (including
end-paper, paste-down, and a leaf cut off short
to go below paste-down ; last seven leaves blank.
Published at ys. 6d.

The Book | of [ Wisdom | and Lies |
Arma Georgia; |

[Colophon] Here endeth the Book of
Wisdom and Lies, a Georgian storybook
of the eighteenth century, by Sulkhan-
Saba Orbeliani : translated, with notes,
by Oliver Wardrop. Printed by Wil-
liam Morris at the Kelmscott Press,
14, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the
County of Middlesex : & finished on the
29th day of September, 1894. Sold by
Bernard Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly, W.

xxvii

8vo., vellum. Five blank leaves (including end-
paper and paste-down); printed title, with first
page of Contents on verso, one leaf; rest of
Contents and Introduction, 7 leaves; ornamental
title, one leaf; b — r in eights + 4 blank leaves
(two of which form end-paper and paste-down).
250 printed in black and red on paper at £2 2s.
each.

Psalmi Penitentiales |
[Colophon] Thus ends the rhymed ver-
sion of the Penitential Psalms found in
a Manuscript of Horae Beatae Mariae-
Virginis, written at Gloucester about
the year 1440, and now transcribed and
edited by F. S. Ellis. Printed by Wil-
liam Morris, at the Kelmscott Press, 14,
Upper Mall, Hammersmith, finished on
the 15th day of November, 1894.

8vo. 4 blank leaves (title on verso). Pp. 63.
300 printed in black and red, 12 on vellum.

Epistola de contemptu Mundi di Frate |
Hieronymo da Ferrara dellordine de
frati [ predicatori la quale manda ad
Elena Buon- j accorsi sua madre, per
consolarla della j morte del fratello, suo
Zio I

[Colophon] Impresse in Londra per
Guglielmo Morris alia Stamperia
Kelmscott, Adi ultimo di Novembre
MDCCCLXXXXIV.

-16 (including title)

-pp.
reproduction of an early

8vo. One blank leaf -)

-1- 1 blank leaf.

The title-page has a

woodcut.

The Kelmscott "mark" is here printed in red

ink.

The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe
Shelley. Volume I. [Volume II.]
[Volume III.]

[Colophon to Vol. III. : — ] Overseen by
F. S. Ellis after the text of foregoing
Editions, & printed by me, William
Morris, at the Kelmscott Press, Upper
Mall, Hammersmith, and finished on
the 21st day of August, 1895. Sold by
William Morris, at the Kelmscott Press.

8vo., vellum.

Vol. I., published in 1894. Four blank leaves;
title, one leaf; contents (with Dedicatory Poem
to Harriet .... on verso), one leaf; ornamental
title, one leaf; b — cc in eights-i- 4 blank leaves
(last used as a paste-down) [pp. 14 including
blanks, contents, and 2 titles + 309 numbered
pages + 7 unnumbered blank pages, exclusive of
paste-down].

Vol. II., published early in l8g5 (February).
Three blank leaves; sig. a, 4 leaves (2 blank);
b — d d in eights 4- 4 blank leaves (one of which is
used as a paste-down) [10 unnumbered blank
pages + pp. iv + 412 pp. + 10 unnumbered pages
(g of which are blank, exclusive of paste-down].
Vol. III., published September, 1895. Three
blank leaves ; sig. a, 4 leaves ; b — e e in eights
(last five leaves blank, and last leaf used as a
paste-down) [6 unnumbered blank pages-;- pp. viii

+ pp. 421 + 9 unnumbered blank pages, exclusive
of paste-down].

250 printed on paper at 25*. per volume, and 6
sets on vellum.

[Colophon] Here endeth the Story of

Beowulf, done out of the Old English

tongue by William Morris & A. J.

Wyatt, and printed by the said William

Morris at the Kelmscott Press, Upper

Mall, Hammersmith, in the County of

Middlesex, and finished on the 10th

day of January, 1895. Sold by William

Morris at the Kelmscott Press.

Folio, vellum. Three blank leaves ; title, one

leaf (on verso of which begins "Argument");

last of Argument, one leaf; ornamental title,

one leaf; b — i in eights (last four leaves blank,

and the last two of which are used as end-paper

and paste-down).

300 printed in red and black at £2 zs. each, and
8 on vellum at £10 each, 4 of which were for
sale.

Syr Percyvelle of Gales |
[Colophon] Overseen by F. S. Ellis, after
the edition printed by J. O. Halliwell
from the MS. in the Library of Lincoln
Cathedral. Printed by William Morris,
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, finished on the 16th day
of February, 1895.

8vo. Five blank leaves (including end-paper and
paste-down); title, one leaf; frontispiece by Sir
E. Bume-Jones, one leaf; b — h in eights. (Sig.
h 6 has been cut off in the binding to go below
paste-down, and six other leaves are blank.)
350 printed in black and red on paper at 155.
each, and 8 on vellum at £4 4s. each.

The Life and Death of Jason, | A Poem
by William Morris. |
[Colophon] Here endeth the Life and
Death of Jason, Written by 'William
Morris, and printed by the said William
Morris at the Kelmscott Press, Upper
Mall, Hammersmith, in the County of
Middlesex, and finished on the 25th day
of May, 1895. Sold by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press.

Folio, vellum. Five blank leaves ; title and
Argument, one leaf; woodcut by Sir E. Burne-
Jones, one leaf; b — a a in eights (last five blank,
including end-paper and paste-down).
200 printed in black and red on paper at ^5 5^.
each, and 6 on vellum at j£2l each, 4 of which
were for sale, with two woodcuts by Sir E. Burne-
Jones.

Of Child I Christo- I pher and I fair
Gold- I ilind. |

[Colophon] Here ends the Story of Child
Christopher, & Goldilind the fair : made

by William Morris, and printed by him
at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, in the County of Mid-
dlesex. Finished the 25th day of July,
1895. Sold by William Morris at the
Kelmscott Press.

2 vols., i6mo.

Vol. I. — Four blank leaves ; printed title, one

leaf; ornamental title, one leaf; b— r in eights

+ 2 blank leaves.

Vol. II. — Five blank leaves; title, one leaf ; B— Q

in eights + 2 blank leaves.

600 printed in black and red on paper at 151.

each, and 12 on vellum at £4 4s. each.

Hand and Soul. By Dante Gabriel
Rossetti.

[Colophon] If Here ends Hand and Soul,
written by Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
and reprinted from The Germ for
Messrs. Way and Williams of Chicago,
by William Morris, at the Kelmscott
Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith.
Finished the 24th day of October, 1895.
Sold by William Morris at the Kelm-
scott Press.

Very small 8vo. Five blank leaves; printed title,
one leaf (with a five-line stanza in Italian by
Bonaggiunta Urbiciani, 1250, on verso); orna-
mental title, one leaf; b — e in eights (last four
leaves blank, and last leaf used as a paste-down)
[14 unnumbered pages, including blanks + 56
numbered pages + 12 blank pages, excluding the
paste-down].

525 copies printed on paper (225 for England at
lor. each), and 21 copies on vellum (10 for Eng-
land at 30J. each).

Poems chosen out of the Works of
Robert Herrick.

[Colophon] Edited by F. S. Ellis from
the text of the edition put forth by the
author in 1648. Printed by William
Morris, at the Kelmscott Press, Upper
Mall, Hammersmith, London, W., and
finished on the 21st day of November,
1895. Sold by William Morris at the
Kelmscott Press.

8vo., vellum. Three blank leaves ; title, one leaf;
Index of First Lines, 6 leaves (in addition to
verso of title-leaf, on which the Index begins);
ornamental title, one leaf; b — u in eights (last
four leaves blank, and last leaf used as a paste-
down) [6 unnumbered blank pages -t- pp. xiv-t-
ornamental title + 296 pages + 6 unnumbered
blank pages].

250 copies printed on paper at 30J. each, and 8
on vellum at £8 Ss. each.

Poems I chosen | out of | The | Works
of I Samuel | Taylor | Coleridge
[Colophon] Edited by F. S. Ellis, and
printed by me, William Morris, at the
Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Hammer-
smith, and finished on the 5th day of
February, 1896. Sold by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press.

1/-

xxvm

8vo., vellum. Five blank leaves (including end-
paper); printed title (Contents on verso), one
leaf; ornamental title, one leaf; b — h 2 in eights
+ three blank leaves (including end-paper).
300 copies printed in black and red on paper at
£1 is. each, and 8 copies on vellum at £5 5*.
each.

The Well at the World's End By
William Morris.

[Colophon] Here ends The Well at the
World's End, written by William
Morris, with four pictures designed by
Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Printed by
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press,
14, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the
County of Middlesex, and finished on
the 2nd day of March, 1896. Sold by
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press.

Large 4to., vellum. Five preliminary blank
leaves (including end-paper) ; title, one leaf; fron-
tispiece by Sir E. Burne-Jones, one leaf; b — ii in
eights +4 blank leaves (including end-paper and
paste-down).

Printed in double columns in Chaucer type.
350 copies printed in black and red on paper at
£5 5*. each, and 8 copies on vellum at ^21 each.

The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer.
[Colophon] Here Ends the Book of the
Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, edited by
F. S. Ellis ; ornamented with pictures
designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones,
and engraved on wood by W. H. Hooper.
Printed by me William Morris at the
Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Hammer-
smith, in the County of Middlesex.
Finished on the 8th day of May, 1896.
The hearty thanks of the Editor and
Printer are due to the Reverend Pro-
fessor Skeat for kindly allowing the use
of his emendations to the Ellesmere
MS. of the Canterbury Tales, and also
of his emended texts of Chaucer's other
writings. The like thanks also the
Editor and Printer give to the Delegates
of the Oxford University Press for al-
lowing them to avail themselves of
Professor Skeat's permission.

Folio, grey boards with linen back.
Collation : — Three blank leaves unsigned (one
of which is used as the paste-down); sigs. a 1,
a 2, blank ; printed title and contents, one leaf;
ornamental title, one leaf (blank on retto) ;
b — n n in eights (2 leaves of sig. n n are blank,
and one is cut off and turned in on the back;
the end-paper and paste-down are not in the
signature).

The illustrations by Sir E. Bume-Jones are 86
in number, and are to be found on pages i, g, 15,
21, 22, 24, 30, 43, 58, 60, 112, 114, 115, 127, 129, 132,
134, 136, 139, 153. 156, 161, 163, 165, 167, 169, 170,
222, 223, 240, 241, 243, 244, 245, 248, 250, 252, 253,
256, 257, 259, 261, 264, 272, 273, 275, 312, 313, 315,
316, 317, 318, 322. 323. 325. 385> 397. 416, 422, 424,
426, 431, 434. 437. 438, 44°, 441. 443, 446, 448, 452,
454, 459, 464, 466, 467, 470, 471, 482, 483, 500, 501,
518, 519, 536, 537, 553-

Although signatured in eights the book is a

folio, each signature being made up of 4 sheets

of two leaves each.

425 copies printed on paper at ^20 each, and

13 on vellum (of which 8 were for sale) at £126

each.

Laudes Beatae Mariae Virginis
[Colophon] These Poems are taken from
a Psalter written by an English scribe,
most likely in one of the Midland coun-
ties, early in the 13th century. Printed
by William Morris at the Kelmscott
Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in
the County of Middlesex, and finished
on the 7th day of July, 1896. Sold by
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press.

Folio, grey boards and linen back. Five prel.
blank leaves ; title, one leaf; b — d in eights (last
seven leaves blank, including end-paper and
paste-down, but one of the leaves has been cut
off short in the binding to go below paste-down).
The first book printed at the Kelmscott Press in
three colours (black, red, and blue).
250 copies printed on paper at 10 -. each, and 10
on vellum at £2 2s. each.

The Floure and the Leafe, & | The Boke
of Cupide, God of [ Love, or the Cuckow
and the | Nightingale
[Colophon] Edited by F. S. Ellis, and
printed by William Morris at the Kelm-
scott Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith,
in the County of Middlesex, and finished
on the 21st day of August, 1896. Sold
by William Morris at the Kelmscott
Press.

8vo., boards, holland back. Four blank leaves
(including end-paper); title, one leaf; b — d in
eights + 2 blank leaves (including end-paper).
Chaucer type.

300 copies printed in black and red on paper at
ioj. each, and 10 on vellum at £2 2s. each.

The Shepheardes Calendar : conteyning
Twelve ./Eglogues, proportionable to
the Twelve Monethes.
[Colophon] Printed at the Kelmscott
Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in
the County of Middlesex, and finished
on the 14th day of October, 1896. Sold
by the Trustees of the late William
Morris at the Kelmscott Press.

8vo., boards, holland back. Four blank leaves
(including end-paper); title, one leaf; frontis-
piece, one leaf; b — h in eights (last seven leaves
blank, including end-paper and paste-down ; one
leaf has been cut off short to go below paste-
down).

With 12 full-page illustrations by A. J. Gaskin.
225 copies printed in black and red on paper at
£1 is. each, and 6 on vellum at £3 3.1. each.

The Earthly Paradise. By 'William
Morris. Volume I. Prologue : The
Wanderers. March : Atalanta's Race.
The Man born to be King.

XXIX

[Colophon] Printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, and finished on
the 7th day of May, 1896.
8vo., vellum, with silk ties. Three prel. blank
leaves ; sig. a, 4 leaves (including one blank
leaf, title, dedication, introductory poem, and
ornamental title-page).

[Vol. II.] The Earthly Paradise. By
William | Morris. Volume II. April :
The I Doom of King Acrisius. The
Proud I King.

[Colophon] Printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, and finished on
the 24th day of June, i8g6.
8vo., vellum. Seven blank leaves (including end-
paper and paste-down); title, one leaf; b — i 5 in
eights + 5 blank leaves (two of which form end-
paper and paste-down).

[Vol. III.] The Earthly Paradise. By
William | Morris. Volume III. May :
The Story | of Cupid and Psyche. The
Writing I on the Image. June : The
Love of I Alcestis. The Lady of the
Land.

[Colophon] Printed by William Morris
at the Kelmscott Press, and finished on
the 24th day of August, 1896.
8vo. , vellum. Seven blank leaves (including end-
paper and paste-down); title, one leaf; b — m 5
in eights + 5 blank leaves (two of which form
end-paper and paste-down).

[Vol. IV.] The Earthly Paradise. By
William ) Morris. Volume IV. July :
The Son | of Croesus. The Watching
of the I Falcon. August : Pygmalion
and I the Image. Ogier the Dane.
[Colophon] Printed by the Trustees of
the late William Morris at the Kelm-
scott Press, and finished on the 25th
day of November, 1896.
Seven blank leaves (including end-paper and
paste-down) ; b — k5 in eights + 5 blank leaves
(two of which form end-paper and paste-down).
To be completed in eight volumes.
350 sets printed on paper at 30s. per volume, and
6 sets on vellum at £7 7s. a volume.

BOOKS IN THE PRESS.

Sire Degravaunt. An ancient English
metrical romance, reprinted from the

Thornton MS. in the library of Lincoln
Cathedral. 8vo. Chaucer type, in black
and red. With a woodcut designed by
Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

350 copies on paper at 15J. each, and 8 on vellum
at £4 4j. each.

Sire Isumbras. Uniform with Sire
Degravaunt, and from the same source.
With a woodcut designed by Sir Edward
Burne-Jones.

350 copies on paper at I2j. each, and 8 on vellum
at £4 4j. each.

Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the
Niblungs. By William Morris. Small
folio. Chaucer type, in black and red.
With two woodcuts designed by Sir E.
Burne-Jones, and new borders by Wil-
liam Morris.

160 copies on paper at £6 6s. each, and 6 on
vellum at £21 each.

The Water of the Wondrous Isles. A
new romance by William Morris. 4to.
In black and red. Chaucer type, in
double columns, uniform with The Well
at the World's End.

250 copies on paper at £3 3s. each, and 6 on
vellum at ^12 12s. each.

The Sundering Flood. The last romance
written by William Morris.

Note. — (1.) Vitas Patrum. St. Jerome's Lives
of the Fathers of the Desert. Special circulars
were issued announcing that this work would be
reprinted from the 1495 edition of W. de Worde.
It was to have been published at ^5 5^., in two
quarto volumes, but the work was abandoned.
(2.) The original announcement of " Sigurd "
stated that the new edition would have 40 wood-
cuts designed by Sir E. Burne-Jones. Mr.
Morris had intended to make a sumptuous book
of this poem, and was engaged in designing
new borders for it. Its price was advertised at
;£i2 12*. each for the 325 copies on paper, and
^52 10s. each for the 6 on vellum.
(3.) The death of Mr. Morris caused the reprint
of Berners' translation of The Cronycles of Syr
John Froissart to be abandoned. It was an-
nounced to appear in two folio volumes, with
armorial borders and ornaments specially de-
signed by Mr. Morris.

; Good Words," April, 18

ADDENDA.

(1) Hapless Love [a Poem.] By William Morris,
pp. 264, 265.

(2) England and the Turks. A Letter to the Editor of the " Daily News," October
25th, 1876.

The letter is signed " William Morris, Author of * The Earthly Paradise.' 26 Queen-square, Blooms-
bury, Oft. 24." It occupies nearly the whole of a column.

(3) " The Earthly Paradise " has been issued by Mr. Stead in his series of Penny
Poets. It is a prose rendering, interspersed with large quotations from the original.

xxx

IMO;

LIBRARY : > in

JUN 1980

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NKS42.M67 Via
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1962 00072 94: